Running to the edge of the world
by MyLadyDay
Summary: Main story that happens after 'Viva la vida'. Sanji is settling back into his old life in Boston with a new girlfriend as best as he can with the new green haired source of stress and misery that is now present in his world. Read 'Viva la vida' first xD. AU
1. The earth is breathing with me

**Finally, the first chapter of the main story. I wasn't planning on making a main story, but alas, here we are. This happens after 'Viva la vida' so read that first. 'Dream of paradise' should be read after 'Viva la vida' and before this. Thanks for all the follows and favorites I got so far, they mean a lot :) I may not post very often in the next month because I have finals and chapters will wary in length. This one is a bit short, but I promised to post till the end of this week. I'm hungry while writing this and I always wanted to try those traditional swedish meat balls xD Also, chapter names are song titles or lines of songs I listened to while writing **

**The earth is breathing with me **

Standing in his new kitchen, Sanji looked as content as he possibly could be. Even the snow that was falling just outside the window couldn't ruin his mood. He could hear faint sounds of singing coming from somewhere in the apartment; Conis was undoubtedly putting her final touches to the home they now shared. He was overcome by happiness, last weeks party and his green haired source of misery long forgotten. He and Conis have finally unpacked everything and could finally relax. Well, she was still probably folding some clothes in _their_ bedroom into _their_ closet next to his own clothes. It all had a rather nice ring to it. He never shared everything like this with someone. Still deep in thought with a soft smile on his face, he sat down on one of the barstools and pulled a cigarette from the front pocket of his black hoodie, rolling it slowly between his fingers. The place truly felt like home; a concept that was fairly abstract to Sanji until that very moment in the kitchen, with sounds of Conis singing filling the apartment. He was genuinely happy and didn't even register that nagging feeling of emptiness; after all, he's been ignoring it for a while now.

He absent-mindedly returned the intact cigarette into his pocket and got up. It was almost lunch time and he'll have to be at the restaurant soon. That means he should make something for Conis; _Can't have my sweetheart starving while I'm gone. _The singing in the background was in swedish now and Sanji smiled. It was always special when she sang like that. Sure, he spoke the language too, but he enjoyed it more when it was Conis. Enjoying the sound of singing, Sanji turned to the fridge and started pulling out various ingredients for lunch. Feeling a bit nostalgic, he prepared meat balls with cranberry sauce and cooked potatoes. Nothing that special, but made with all the love he has for Conis. The angelic singing was approaching him and he could feel her delicate arms embrace him around the waist even before she actually did so. Sanji smiled yet again. It seems that is the only thing he did for the last year and a half since he met his angel.

"You finally finished?" he asked without turning around.

"Mmhmm. I'm tired now. And hungry. This smells wonderful, thank you, hon." she replied, nuzzling between his shoulder blades. "You have to leave soon?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I just have to take a shower before I go. Now, eat. "

Reluctantly, Conis let go of Sanji and sat on the same barstool he sat before. He place a plate in front of her and embraced her shoulders, leaning in to kiss her temple.

"What are your plans for today?" he sat on the stool next to Conis and watched her eat.

"Nami is having some of her friends over and she invited me too. Don't worry, I won't be lonely." she gave him the sweetest smile only she could manage.

Remembering that Nami lives with Luffy now, Sanji can conclude that she'll kick her boyfriend/miscreant out. The blonde had to grimace as the realisation hit him: Luffy's coming to the Baratie. The old man's gonna throw a fit. _I wonder if he got rid of the twitch in his eye he always had when Luffy came over. _Sanji shook the feeling of paranoia off and kissed Conis on the forehead.

"I'm glad you're getting along with Nami. I have to go shower now." he said, kissing her one last time. Making sure she was looking at him, he gave her the most innocent smile he could muster and added "But feel free to join me."

* * *

It was well over half an hour when Sanji ran out into the cold afternoon air. It was still snowing and he did not like it one bit. Now the old man had a reason to bitch at him. Sanji ran through the almost deserted cold streets towards his second home. He was so fucking late. Lunch time was over so the restaurant should be fairly empty, but he was still late and that usually never happened to the sous-chef. He was too young for the position anyway and a lot of people wanted his place when he screwed up. It pissed him off to no end, but the only thing he could do was make sure he doesn't screw up. So now he was running through what seemed to be a blizzard in the general direction of the restaurant. It was hard to tell where he was going with all that snow. The hat on his head and scarf pulled over his nose didn't help either. He would never say it out loud, but he felt like a ninja for a second there.

Giggling behind the thick scarf, Sanji didn't notice someone approaching until he was crashing into the unfortunate bastard. He didn't even stop to think how he didn't look threatening at all with a blue scarf with little fishies he borrowed from Conis and promptly started cursing the bastard that dared to run into him. The shimmer of three gold earrings peeking out of the black knit cap stopped his rant. Sanji had another mini heart attack when he diverted his gaze towards the others face. Tan skin and a scowl that could break concrete. _Shit. _The sudden strong smell of coffee snapped him out of his daze.

"Watch where you're going, dipshit!" Zoro yelled, drawing Sanjis attention to the broken cup between them. _Great, it's not like our interactions so far weren't awkward enough. _"You should fucking apologize for not looking where you're going." the grass head continued. "Or maybe remove that shit from your face." Sanji looked at him in confusion.

_Shit from my face? _Instinctively, he brought his hand to his face, but only met the thick wool of Conis' scarf. He then promptly blushed. _I'm wearing a girly scarf with shiny fucking fishes. _Another thought invaded his mind. _He can't see my face! Fuck yeah, he doesn't know who I am. _It seems Sanji had a stroke of fucking luck. _I just need to apologize and get lost before he can realize who I am._

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm just late for work and wasn't really paying attention." Sanji said, thankful that the scarf muffled his voice. "I have to go, sorry, bye." he mumbled and ran away. He could hear the other shouting after him, but Sanji just ignored it. He didn't need to add more stress to his day. Knowing that Luffy will be at the Baratie was bad enough. _Today's not a very good day. _Sanji was already tired as hell and he wasn't even at work yet.

It took him another ten minutes of steady running to reach the restaurant. He could hear the yelling and cursing before he entered the kitchen through the back door. In his rush, Sanji didn't even take of the scarf and hat. Everyone fell silent as he entered, all eyes on him. And the blue scarf with the shiny little fish. A mere second later, everyone present in the kitchen started laughing. Some even pointed at Sanji while laughing. He could almost feel the blush rising in his face, be it from embarrassment or rage, he didn't know himself. Ripping the scarf from his face, he yelled "Shut the fuck up and get back to work, shitheads!"

Instead of being intimidated, the others just laughed harder. After all, they knew him for a while now and the only ones afraid of the foul mouthed sous-chef were the waiters and the new cooks in training, even though he was by far the youngest chef in the kitchen. A deep growly voice put an end to the loud atmosphere in the kitchen.

"You're late, eggplant."

That was all it took to silence the cooks and make them go back to work. Zeff always had that effect on his workers, even Patty and Carne even though those two didn't listen to anyone. Least of all Sanji.

"You're late and that friend of yours ate half of our stock because of it."

"Hi, Shanjshi!" Sanji grimaced as he heard the voice from the direction of the fridge. Luffy was already there, mouth full and fridge almost empty. _Fucking shit. _

"Sorry about this, Sanji." came another voice and it didn't sound sorry at all. _Great, both of the black hole brothers are here. _

"Hey, Ace." Sanji said with a sigh and turned around. Ace was sitting at the chefs table in the kitchen, sipping on a coke. Surprisingly, he wasn't eating. "You're not staying?"

"Nope, I'm hanging out with Zoro today." Sanji grimaced at the mention of that certain name. "I'm supposed to meet him at my place in ten minutes so I should go. Too bad you were late, though. I know it's been two years, but I wanted to finally ask you about the black haired girl from the club." Sanjis face drained of color. "There's no ladies present so I wanted to know how you got her to go home with you." He stopped breathing. "You did take her home, right? I mean, you had that hickey on your neck when we said goodbye at the airport." _Shit shit shit shit shit shit. _His mental chant was cut short when Aces phone started vibrating on the table. Ace looked at the screen and grimaced a little before answering it. "Hey, sorry sorry, I'm on my way." Ace was silent while the person on the other end was talking. "I had to drop Luffy of at the Baratie and was waiting for Sanji." Silence again. "Well, I wanted to say hi. I'm going now, be there in a few minutes." Without saying goodbye, he hung up and got up. "Sorry, I have to go. Green is throwing a fit. We should go out before New Years so you can tell me all about your last conquest in the States." He quickly put his coat on and waved at everyone, even though everyone except Sanji and Zeff were trying to pry Luffy away from the fridge. "I'll call you tomorrow. Bye." And he was gone, not waiting for Sanji to reply. He didn't even notice how Ace didn't really wait for an answer, just watched for Sanjis reactions. But the old man noticed something was off about the eggplant.

**This one's short and boring, but I had to start somewhere :D**


	2. Into the fire

**So, chapter 2 :D I worked hard on this one so I hope you enjoy. I'll try to post every other Sunday until my exams end, might turn into every Sunday after that, I'll see how well the story will progress. I also downloaded a map of Boston and marked where everyone lives in colourful dots xD This chapters song is Into the fire by Marilyn Manson, if anyone wanted to know :D Your reviews make me happy so feel free to leave me some**

**I also keep forgetting to add that I do not own One piece. I only own a demonic bunny.**

**Into the fire**

He was still lazing around in his bed, even though it was already 9:30. It used to be so unlike him to stay in bed after 8, let alone miss his early morning workout. Well, he'll still do it, but technically, it won't be early morning anymore. Truth was he let himself slip up. He wasn't as strict with himself anymore and for some reason, grandfather and his friends thought it was a good thing. Chopper was thrilled. Zoro knew he'd have to make it up and should do so pretty soon. Going easy on himself wasn't going to help him achieve his goal. No use thinking about that now. So he lay there, staring at the ceiling. It was strange how that happened more often lately. Seeing Sanji surely didn't help, although he was obviously taking the so-called confrontation better than the blonde. A quick flash of the blondes startled face and Zoro was struggling not to burst into fits of laughter. That was so fucking priceless.

If he was honest with himself, Zoro would admit that he was just as shocked and startled as the blonde was when Sanji entered Aces living room last week; he was just better at keeping his emotions in check than Sanji obviously was. Zoros struggle with the whole sleeping-with-a-dude thing was over and done with. Sure, he had issues with it for a while and the confusion was overwhelming. That's one of the reasons he was glad to talk to Ace afterwards. _Shit, Ace. _He hasn't seen or spoken to Ace since the party and he was well aware that it was a crappy thing to do to a friend. In the privacy of his own mind, he might just admit that he was afraid of talking to Ace. Ace wanted him to meet Sanji ever since he came back from Japan and the current situation certainly cast a whole new kind of light on that. Ace spoke so fondly of Sanji for two years that he actually couldn't wait to meet the guy. The same guy that obviously hated his guts. Well, in all honesty –_since being honest is obviously what I'm doing right now- _Zoro did rile Sanji up and intentionally, although not directly, told him that he does indeed remember that night for the first time, to Sanjis utmost horror. Sure, he didn't exactly spell it out, but the blonde got the meaning. Painfully so.

Sanjis horrified face flashed through his mind again and this time he couldn't help but chuckle. Pissing Sanji off was fun. Zoro wasn't sure why exactly that was so, but that didn't matter really and the Blonde was pretty interesting. _Maybe I should ease up a bit and cut him some slack. _Sanji obviously wasn't okay with what they did and probably wasn't planning on thinking about it ever again. Zoro sighed, removed the blanket from his barely clothed body and got out of bed. He's done thinking about that, if he's going to see Ace, it'll all be brought up again anyway. He stretched and looked out the window. A soft smile appeared on his usually scary face; Zoro loved the snow. He never had a problem with cold weather and he was almost never sick. After pulling on some pants, he made his way to the bathroom, pulling on a shirt while crossing the short distance. It was more out of habit that the cold. A monotonous act made his mind work on more pressing matter and at the moment, that was whether to see Ace. Brush-brush-brush. _Definitely seeing Ace. _Spit-gurggle-spit. Washing his face prolonged his stay in the bathroom and as soon as he was done, he slowly made his way back to the bedroom and towards the cellphone on the nightstand. Cellphone in hand, his feet instinctively took him to the window. The white blanket of snow put another smile on his face. He was glad his bedroom had a nice view over a rather big park. It looked completely amazing. He was looking forward to going to the dojo; the garden's bound to look beautiful. After a few silent seconds, the cellphone was finally on and it displayed the time. It was only 10. Tapping on the contacts icon and then on the first number, it didn't take long for the line to start ringing. It took six long rings before Ace picked up. _Must have worked the night shift. _Zoro kept the conversation short so Ace could go back to sleep as soon as possible. Though, it did seem to Zoro that Ace perked up when hanging out was mentioned. That also brought a smile to Zoros face even though he knew the afternoon can in no way whatsoever end well for him or his sanity. After all, Ace could be a vicious little prick if he wanted to be. That, to Zoros grief, seemed to be the case for the afternoon.

With a sigh, Zoro stepped away from the window and threw the cellphone on the bed. He had plenty of time to work out at the dojo before 3 when he had to be at Aces place. He made his way to the closet and pulled out a gray sweater and black jeans. It didn't take long to get dressed, put on a leather jacket and head out into the snow. The feeling of snow flakes on his skin was nice, though he should have covered his head; it probably looked like a meadow covered in snow by that point. Not that he would admit that to anyone. He still remembered how Kuina and Tash used to mess with him and grandfather would just laugh and wouldn't help him fend the demon twins off. No one else is allowed to tease him about it anymore. People are too scared of him to do so, anyway, but not those two. They were like devils when together. It still wasn't all that clear to him why grandfather deemed it a good idea to equip them with swords, especially Tash. She was an accident waiting to happen. Which made Kuinas accident all that more ironic. Well, these thoughts went through his head more than enough times already and it didn't really hurt that much anymore, though talking to someone else was still a problem.

Abruptly stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, Zoro realized he had no idea where he was. It all looked the same and the thick snow didn't help at all. Well, this might be considered a downside to snow even though his navigational skills weren't all that great to begin with. _Dammit. _He kept walking down the street he was in, a bit slower this time and paying attention to his surroundings. _This looks like where Nami and Luffy live. _He was lucky their neighbourhood was the only one with those old houses. Robin went on about why they were important and shit like that, he wasn't really paying attention to that at the time, but luckily he remembered it now. Turning around, he took his cellphone out and checked the time. 11:15. _Dammit! _He picked up the pace and started walking in the direction he came from. If he didn't hurry, there would be no time to train.

* * *

The trip to the dojo lasted for another half hour (on what was a 10 minute walk for normal people). That didn't matter, though, he was finally there. Zoro moved past the main entrance and entered the building through the back door and into the hallway of his grandfathers house. He slowly took off his shoes and replaced them with black slippers that he used to where while he lived with his grandfather. The shoes were soon followed by his jacket that he hung on a hanger by the door and climbed the stairs. There were no classes between eleven and two so the dojo should be empty and he could train in peace after he saw Koshiro. As expected, he was in the kitchen preparing lunch.

"Good morning, grandfather." he bowed to the old man who turned around in surprise.

"Zoro! I wasn't expecting you today. It is your day off." he smiled. "And it's long past morning."

"I just came to train a little before I see Ace." Zoro answered, ignoring Koshiros comment.

"Will you stay for lunch?"

"Sure, I'll eat before I go." Koshiro nodded and turned back to his food. Zoro exited the kitchen and made his way to the door on the end of the hall: his old room. Sometimes he missed living with his grandfather, but they agreed that Zoro needed his space after he came back from Japan. The only thing he didn't like was that it seemed Koshiro was a bit lonely now, though he was too proud to admit it. Zoro was a lot like him when it came to that. According to Koshiro, Zoros mother was the same. _I guess it runs in the family. _He didn't really remember his mother, but he always smiled when thinking about her. She was strong and exceptionally skilled with a blade. A picture of her still decorated the desk in his old room. _She was exceptionally beautiful too. _He stood in front of the photo and almost facepalmed. _Jesus, what the hell is wrong with me today? _His train of thought was completely random since he woke up, it was very unsettling. He tried to clear his head of everything while he changed his clothes and grabbed the white katana from its special place on a shelf above the desk. There's no room for random thoughts at the moment, he should focus on his training. Before leaving the room, he glanced at the clock – noon. That gives him two hours to do some basics and he could lift some weights before bed after seeing Ace. After all, who knows how long the talk with Ace will last. He was probably getting ready for later, the cruel bastard. He went through the hall and down the stairs into one of the training rooms in the dojo.

The silence was soothing and everything was neatly put where it belonged, just the way his grandfather liked to keep the place. Dropping his shirt to the ground, he slowly unsheathed the katana and stepped into the middle of the small room. The atmosphere was calming him and cleared his mind of unwanted thoughts that kept invading it since he woke up. All that was left in the world were him and the emotional weight of the precious sword in his hands. He noticed it was freshly sharpened and cleaned; it made his lips twitch upwards a bit. It was obvious Koshiro did that even though he would never admit the sword was precious to him too. It became the most prized treasure for both of them all those years ago, despite having other more valuable swords in the house. Taking a deep breath, Zoro started moving. His movements were fluid, every move of his muscles precise and perfectly calculated. The sword was an extension of his body, helping him in his journey to obtain the goal that wasn't even his in the beginning. His eyes were closed, after all he knew the room to the last detail and could move through it blindfolded. This house was the only place in the world where he could never lose his way. It was home. The movements he made became faster, sweat was slowly forming on his skin, but he didn't notice. The sword cut through the air, sending swift gusts of wind around the room. There was no sound around him save for the slicing of the sword and his silent breathing. The silence would certainly be deafening to anyone else, yet he didn't mind. His ears were closed to everything, including the silent footsteps that were approaching the room he currently occupied. There was no need to keep his guard up here and so he remained oblivious to the audience he now had. Keeping his eyes closed, his swift movements never wavered and his hands didn't shake. He didn't feel fatigue nor did he know how much time has passed. It could have been hours or it could have been five minutes.

Koshiro stood patiently next to the door, waiting for Zoro to finish and watching him closely. Of course he noticed how Zoro changed lately and he was secretly glad it was so. All the extensive training Zoro was putting himself through was taking a toll on him. Maybe not physically, but certainly mentally. The dream he had was not his own, yet he took it upon his shoulders without hesitation. Sometimes it was more like dead weight than something a young man like himself would be proud to carry and it worried Koshiro to no end. It was a relief that Zoro cut down on the training and found more friends when he came back from Japan. Frankly, it was worrisome how he closed into himself when Kuina died. Koshiro observed how Zoro started to slow down again, sweat dripping from his forehead. His dark eyes were open now and he notice the old man watching him, but he didn't stop what he was doing. He wasn't done yet. He repeated some of the basic motions for a short while before straightening his back and pulling to a stop in the middle of the room where he started. Neither of them spoke until Zoro sheathed the katana carefully and wiped the sweat off with the discarded shirt. Koshiro stepped closer to his only grandson. He was painfully reminded of his deceased daughter every time he saw her only child – the boy had her dark eyes and her skill, though the latter was only obvious to Koshiro. And maybe Zoros uncle. Which brought to mind the news he wanted to share with Zoro.

"Ran called this morning to tell me that Tashigi is coming to visit us. She'll probably stay for a while."

Zoro was slightly surprised. He hasn't seen her in two years and may have missed her clumsy persona a bit. Furthermore, she didn't visit ever since Kuina died. Still, he had to smile.

"When will she be here" he started, "and where will she stay?"

"Ran said she should be arriving a few days after New years and she'll stay here." Koshiro replied. "Probably in your old room." he added. It goes without saying that she might not want to stay in the room she shared with Kuina. Neither of them understood the bond that twins share, but it was always clear that it was beyond special and the death of one twin certainly had a huge effect on the remaining one. They were both well aware of it.

After a short pause, Zoro asked "What's the time?". No need to talk about Tash for now, there's still time before she comes.

Koshiro was slightly surprised with the change of topic, but didn't ask questions. "I believe it is 20 minutes until two o'clock." he replied and, after sending a soft smile Zoros way, turned to leave. "Your lunch is in the kitchen and I will be in room number 1, preparing for the next class."

Zoro nodded even though Koshiro had his back turned to him. He slowly made his way up the stairs and back into his room to grab the clothes he wore when he arrived. After gently placing the katana back on the polished stand on the shelf he left the room and entered the bathroom across the hall. It was small, but he was used to it. He took a short shower so he could eat before leaving. Sometimes he missed the familiarity of his grandfathers cooking. He himself never learned how to cook anything beyond eggs and instant noodles. Also, toast. It would be funny if it wasn't sad. He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He quickly dried himself off and put his clothes on. Leaving his workout clothes in the laundry, he went back into the hall and towards the kitchen. Like Koshiro said, there were two bowls with chopsticks and a small bottle on the table. Chicken katsu curry with a side of rice and sake. His grandfather certainly knew him too well and it made him smile. Sometimes he really missed living with the old man. He gratefully dug into the mysteriously still warm food.

* * *

Barely twenty minutes and a quick goodbye to Koshiro later, he was already outside in the snow sporting a layer of white on the black knit cap he found in his old room. It was a lucky find, really. This way he didn't have to go back home, he could just walk to Aces place. He certainly had time and the streets were almost deserted thanks to the thick snow that continued to fall relentlessly. It was a beautiful day and Zoro felt invigorated. The thought of the upcoming conversation with Ace didn't really excite him, but it had to be done and he already came to peace with that churning feeling in the pit of his stomach. _Ace'll just mess with me a little. Probably the blonde too, though I doubt Sanji will be happy to know that Ace knows. _Zoro swore to himself he'll make Ace behave in front of Sanji. He continued his walk, not really paying attention to where he was going. Again. After a short while, he stopped next to Choppers favourite coffee shop that wasn't necessarily on the way to Aces place, but Zoro figured he still had time and might as well grab a coffee.

With a coffee in his hand, he continued on his quest. Time was slowly running out and he should probably hurry. Not that Ace would be mad at him or anything, he was used to people laughing at his sense of direction or the lack of it even when it wasn't the lack of direction that got him lost, it was his thoughts and his inability to control them. Despite what people might think, he didn't have the intelligence of a rock; he preferred to think before speaking. Lost in thought yet again, he didn't notice the blue whirlwind rushing in his direction until it crashed into him. The coffee spilled and was dripping from his jacket and the person that ran into him was still clinging to his sleeve trying not to fall down all the while cursing like a truck driver. Zoro was slowly getting annoyed at the person.

"Watch where you're going, dipshit!" Zoro yelled at him. "You should fucking apologize for not looking where you're going." he continued as his attention was averted to the others face. Or rather, the blue scarf with... _shiny glittery fishes? The fuck? _ "Or maybe remove that shit from your face." he barely managed to contain a snicker. _Who wears crap like that anyway? _The culprit, whose face was hidden behind that abomination, stood there probably looking at him. It was hard to tell, really. Slowly, he lifted his hand and brought it to his face. _What the hell is he doing? _Zoro was really getting pissed.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm just late for work and wasn't really paying attention." came a muffled voice. "I have to go, sorry, bye." the mystery man mumbled quickly and ran away before Zoro could really say something or maybe punch him. _Should have punched him, asshole spilled my coffee. _Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself and continued walking towards the apartment he knew so well by now. It should be close and he still had about 15 minutes until three.

Keeping his mind in check, he arrived at Aces building in 10 minutes. Buzzing on the intercom proved itself to be useless so he let himself in. Ace gave him a spare key a while ago. Neither really remembered why that happened, but it didn't really matter anyway. The place was empty and Zoro thought for a second that Ace might have forgotten about their plans. He took his jacket and shoes off and made his way to the kitchen, dialling Aces number in the meantime. Two short rings later, freckles picked up.

"Where the hell are you?" Zoro said, words harsh, but the tone held no bite to it.

"Hey, sorry sorry, I'm on my way." Ace replied, actually sounding a bit sorry for a moment.

"It's fine. Where are you anyway?"

"I had to drop Luffy of at the Baratie and was waiting for Sanji." came the reply and Zoro was sure he could hear the man grin.

"Why would you want to do that?" Zoro asked even when he wasn't sure if he wanted a truthful answer.

"Well, I wanted to say hi. I'm going now, be there in a few minutes." Ace said and hung up.

* * *

True to his word, Ace did arrive in a few minutes. Already accepting his demise, Zoro waited for him on the couch with a beer in his hand. At least Ace had plenty of those in his fridge. Freckles took a beer too before joining his friend on the couch. They were both aware of the reason they were in need of a discussion. Ace was never known for beating around the bush, so he just dove into the subject with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"So, you and Sanji." Zoro watched as the dreaded words left his friends mouth and he knew there was no going back now. This would be a long day for him. "Sleeping together." Ace almost purred those last words. He was enjoying this, that ass.

"We're not sleeping together." Zoro replied with a sigh. He knew there was no use trying to get out of this. "I already told you what happened." he averted his eyes to the beer in front of him and missed the change on his friends face.

"Do you like him?" Ace asked with a straight face. It caught Zoro by surprise, this was the last thing he expected. His mouth was slightly open in surprise or shock, he couldn't tell himself.

"W-what?" he managed to ask, still surprised by the question, but didn't know why really. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you like him?" Ace was still serious. "I know you didn't spend much time with each other so far, but you usually only need just the first impression to know if you like someone. So, do you?"

Zoro didn't know what to say. Did he like him? He hasn't really thought about it. Sure, they could have probably been friends if the circumstances were different, but they can never know that.

"I don't know. I didn't really think about it. Does it really matter, though? We can't be friends anyway, not until he learns to live with what happened." Ace was aware of that. No one knew Sanji better than him and it did hurt a bit that Sanji never confided in him about what happened with Zoro. He did know, however, that Sanji had a really long way ahead of him to accepting that he might not be as straight as he likes to think he is.

"Do you like him more than just a friend?" Ace was still completely serious and it was pissing Zoro off.

"Dude, what the hell? Why are you asking me this?" He could see that freckles was getting amused by this.

"Well, I always thought the two of you could be great friends, but this development made me think that you guys could make an awesome couple." seeing Zoro grimace at the suggestion made Ace chuckle. "Think about it, you'd be perfect for each other."

Zoro did indeed try to think about it and the images he had in his mind weren't all that appealing.

"You really think that I am a good match for the straightest guy on the planet that tried to kick my head off the moment he laid eyes on me?" the sarcasm in his voice was so thick you could almost touch it. Ace burst into laughter at that, he had to admit it would be a funny combination, but he was still confident they would be perfect for each other.

"You did sleep with the straightest guy on the planet, you know." freckles said between giggles. "He's just in denial. I'll have to talk to him."

The thought of Ace having that exact conversation with Sanji was horrible. Someone could die, that someone being either Ace or, more likely, Zoro.

"Soooo..." Ace continued, "you never went into detail. How was the sex?"

Zoro almost choked on his beer.

"He did like it, didn't he?"

His face didn't know whether to drain of color or blush furiously.

"Does he look as hot naked as I think he does?"

...

"Zoro, are you listening? Come on, tell me. I think I have a right to know."

"What the hell? No! I'm not telling you anything." Zoro finally snapped out of his confusion with a slight adorable blush on his face. "What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you see this is a problem? Curly hates me and there's no way we'll ever be friends."

"So, I'll talk to him. Maybe he can tell me if he liked it."

Zoro just had to facepalm. This idiot is making a bad situation worse. Sure, he can live with a prissy idiot hating him, but this was more than that. They shared a group of friends and their awkward situation could make things awkward for everyone. Naturally, Zoro wasn't planning on telling the others anything, but if curly continued acting weird around him, they're bound to notice something's wrong. In the end, it wasn't a good thing that Ace knew. He knew his freckled friend well enough to know that a conversation with Sanji was imminent. He'll have to talk to curly himself probably. _Fucking hell. _

Ace was having a blast. Zoro was so easy to mess with and this whole thing was funny as hell. Besides, he just wanted his friends to be happy. His theory was that they could be happy together. Conis didn't even cross his mind. Next thing on his itinerary was a talk with Sanji. That one should be more fun anyway. For now, he'll just let Zoro wollow in his misery. He was too stubborn for his own good, but Sanji was worse, especially in this kind of situation. What Ace needed was a plan. The devious grin that appeared on his face did nothing to comfort Zoro and make him think this was the last he'd hear about this.

**This was a bit longer than the last one, but I still can't do longer than this until my finals end. Now, concerning Zoros mother: I didn't really pick a name for her, but she is definitely completely inspired by Unohana from Bleach (beautiful and awesome with a sword :D). I didn't find anyone that would fit the description in One piece so I had to look elsewhere. Ran, or Tashigi and Kuinas mother, is from One piece. You may know her as one of the Kuja pirates. All characters will be from One piece and you can find them on the wikia if you're interested. This story kinda branched out and I created some family trees and side stories that I will probably post as a set of one-shots (for example: about Zoro and his swords, about Sanji and his mother, Zoros life in Japan, etc). When I think of a story, I can't not think about scenes from characters lives that shaped them into what they are in the current story.**

**Thanks for reading and I'm sorry if I didn't meet your expectations with this story.**


	3. Seven devils in my house

**So, chapter three. I'm posting it a bit earlier because Vergina is leaving on a trip next week and I want her to read it :D Now, if it wasn't clear, the first two chapters happen at the same time, the first part of this chapter is on that same day and it continues from the last chapter, while the rest of this chapter is 4 days later. The title's from 'Seven devils' by Florence and the Machine.**

**Don't own One piece.**

**Seven devils in my house**

The day ended up being too long for Zoros liking. As expected, Ace was merciless. Zoros head ached from the mere thought of the questions he unwillingly answered. He should have just said that he did like Sanji, maybe Ace wouldn't feel the need to desecrate a friends romantic interest by asking things he ended up asking after a few seemingly innocent questions. Zoro had to admit, if this wasn't happening to him, it would be hilarious and Ace was a natural when it came to making embarrassing inquiries. Really, it baffled Zoro how he even think of half of those. It started out innocent, with asking about the colour of Sanjis underwear, but things took a turn down a weird road after that. _Did you touch his feet? Did he like it? Are his nipples sensitive? Are yours? Did he ride you? I bet he looks magnificent. Ooooh, did you bend him over that desk of yours? Wait, wait, did he bend you over something? That would be interesting to see. Is he a screamer? Does he shave? Are his pubes blonde too? _Zoro knew, deep down, that one day he would pay dearly for answering that last one. By the time Ace finally let him leave, the snow stopped falling and it was pretty late. Wandering around town at night with his ability to get lost even a block from the apartment was never fun and the splitting headache he was sporting didn't help in the slightest. The only thing he could focus on was the way home, his guard lowered and the ability to perceive his surroundings was at an all time low. What he didn't know won't kill him, right? He'll be fine for one night, who'd want to mess with him anyway.

He was blissfully unaware of a pair of black eyes that followed his every movement down the empty street. Hidden in the shadows of a dark alley, the eyes never faltered. As Zoro stepped around the corner, she left the shadows and hurried down the street to the spot she last saw him. He was wearing a cap and his hair wasn't visible, but she was completely certain it was the man she was looking for. Without the cover of shadows, she waited at the corner until he was far enough not to notice her, but still close enough for her to not lose sight of him. She swore she'd never lose sight of him again. Slowly walking a reasonable distance behind her prey, she never took her eyes off him. They were almost at his building, but she didn't know that until he slowed down and started rummaging through his pockets. She hid in the nearest shadows, her eyes never leaving him. He sped up again after a short while and she returned to the deserted street, stepping into the footprints he left behind in the thick snow. Noticing he stopped in front of a building and turned to unlock the door, she crossed the road and merged with the shadows of an alley. He disappeared into the building and she stayed in her hiding place, where she had the perfect view of the average looking building across the street. Waiting for the lights to turn on didn't last long and she finally knew where he lived. Vigorously promising herself that she will never forget those windows on the second floor, she observed how her target walked past the windows. A vicious smile that would put even Nami to shame appeared on her beautiful face. She finally found him.

* * *

Sanji always loved being surrounded with friends, even more so when he got to cook for them. They didn't spend Christmas together so it was decided that Sanji would cook dinner for everyone once he and Conis settled into their new home. Sure, New years is in three days and they would spend it together, but two years without Sanji and his cooking took a toll on the ones fortunate enough that tried his food before. His stress levels were surprisingly low for the day, no thanks to Ace. Since he saw his moss headed horror four days ago, Sanji was fretting that Ace might know something. Ace is his best friend and the thought of telling him everything has occurred to Sanji on several occasions, but talking to him could go two ways: he'd either help out or never let him forget what happened. Ace could have a sadistic side to him when he really wanted. With a sigh, Sanji turned his attention back to cooking and everyone around him. The four lovely ladies sat in the kitchen while he cooked and he was thrilled; mostly because Conis was getting along so well with them. Vivi couldn't make it, but Usopp brought his lovely girlfriend with him. Sanji couldn't help but be amazed how Usopp managed to find a girl like Kaya. That guy was truly a lucky bastard. Speaking of which, the guys were on the couch in the living room. Drinking beer and playing Mortal Kombat with as much noise as possible still seemed to be their main preoccupation. How three of them managed to get girls like Nami, Kaya and especially Robin was beyond him. Sanji half listened to the girls talk about shopping plans and the party in three days, accompanied by an occasional shout of "Finish him!" from the living room. _Ah, home sweet home. _His chuckle went unnoticed as he continued with shopping, frying, baking and everything else he could manage with only two hands. He was still slightly worried about Ace. Shitty freckled bastard definitely knew something and it bothered Sanji that he didn't know what it was while Ace played dumb. Sanji even let himself be convinced by that bastard to invite Zoro too, but luckily he already had other plans. Still, he knew his luck would run out eventually and probably very soon.

Thinking about a certain bastard seemed to summon the man as he strolled into the kitchen, beer in hand and a disturbing smirk on his face. It was subtle, but Sanji knew it all too well to be at ease. Never stopping with the food preparations, he patiently waited for Ace to make his move. His posture revealed none of the panic that was swelling in his chest. Why exactly he was afraid of Ace, he didn't know. They were like brothers, really. Sanji took a deep breath as he washed the lettuce , trying hard not to make everyone in the room notice he wasn't calm and collected. Ace chatted with the girls a bit; Conis fit into their little group perfectly. All Sanji needed to do now was get used to Zoro. Placing the bowl of clean lettuce in the fridge, he didn't notice Ace lurking by the sink right away. Without skipping a beat, Sanji moved back to the stove and stood next to his friend. His voice barely above a whisper, Ace asked: "So, are you ever going to tell me?"

Tensing up a bit and avoiding eye contact, Sanji replied: "Tell you what?" He whispered too, not really knowing why, but deeming it a good idea.

"Oh, you know what I mean." The smirk on his face was that of a man who already won the battle at hand.

"You'll have to be more specific, Freckles." Sanji said, hiding his nervousness under a bright smile. "You're being awfully evasive."

It was Aces turn to smile. "Sanji, Sanji, you're the evasive one. You promised to tell me about your last conquest before settling down with the lovely lady over there." he finished, swinging his beer bottle in Conis' direction. "It must have been something special, even for you."

"What do you mean?" The confusion was evident in his voice. At this point, he didn't really know which part confused him more. Did Ace know or didn't he? "And why are you so interested in how I got someone into bed?" He wasn't going to admit he slept with a guy just yet, but he couldn't really openly lie to his friend.

"Why not?" he simply shrugged. "It was special and I'd like to you to share it with me."

Every possible alarm went off in Sanjis head. _He knows he knows he knows. _

Still keeping his voice low, Ace added with a conniving smile: "You know, it was the last one night stand before changing your lifestyle for Conis." What he said made sense, but Sanji was now utterly convinced (and horrified) that Ace knew. It was only a matter of how much he actually knew.

Sanji was cooking on autopilot by now, going through the motions without a second thought while talking to Ace; both still trying not to draw attention. They were aware it was a bit irrational, but that didn't matter at the moment. Sanji took a deep breath before saying: "Fine, I'll tell you."

Aces face lit up at that. He turned to the girls and said: "Ladies, would you mind setting the table while Sanji finishes dinner?" The charming smile on his face was hard to resist even for Nami. They all got up before Sanji had time to protest about ladies doing his job. Alas, they knew him well enough and Conis spoke: "Don't worry, Sanji, we'll take care of it. You've done enough." She smiled at them and left the kitchen before he had time to reply. Now, being left alone in the kitchen with Ace, the panic was starting to seep back into his chest. Should he tell him the truth or lie and say that he went home with that black haired girl, whatever her name was again?

Ace was waiting patiently, he was sure this was hard for the blonde, but still not sure whether he'll tell the whole truth.

"How much do you know?" Sanjis voice was quiet, he seemed small and scared. Like a child faced with his worst nightmare. It broke Aces heart a bit that his friend looked frightened, avoiding eye contact.

"He told me everything." The words made Sanjis blood run cold. That bastard told Ace, who the fuck knows what exactly he said and how Ace sees him now. Shame was washing over him. Shame mixed with panic and fear. This could ruin his relationship with Conis.

"I know what you're thinking and you're wrong." Aces words brought Sanji back to reality and he looked at his friend in surprise. "He told me right after it happened and he didn't go into detail. He was just as scared as you are." Before Sanji could interject that he was not scared, Ace continued: "He didn't know who you were or how exactly everything happened. Or why." The only thing Sanji could read from Aces face was understanding.

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you."

"It's okay, I understand it wasn't easy for you. I still think you and Zoro could be good friends, though."

"Come on, how could we be?!" frustration quickly replaced fear as it became obvious that Ace wasn't mad or disgusted with him, but the idea of friendship with moss brain was ridiculous. Not to mention, impossible. "After what he did to me?"

Understanding drained from Aces face and anger emerged. "Sanji, don't be an asshole, you were both drunk. You really need to deal with whatever's still on your mind and move on." Any further discussion was stopped as Conis reappeared in the kitchen.

"We're done with the table so we can take the food out whenever you're done." She said cheerfully, followed by a quick peck on his cheek. "Is the food almost ready? Luffy's..." She didn't have a chance to finish as her words were cut off by a loud cry for meat, courtesy of Luffy. He still didn't sound like a dying whale, so Sanji was sure the damn gluttonous idiot wasn't really starving.

"I'm almost done, you can take the salads from the fridge. Freckles and I will bring out the rest. Tell everyone to sit down." he replied, finishing with a kiss to Conis' now blushing cheek. She retreated from the kitchen, bowls of salad in her hands and Ace took the opportunity to snatch another beer from the fridge. Sounds of chairs scraping on the wooden floor filled the apartment, accompanied by cheerful chatter and Luffys anti-salad wails.

Aces angry expression softened and he looked at Sanji once more. "You know, he's not gay." He didn't bother with elaborating and simply turned to leave the kitchen. He stopped and, without turning around, added: "And I hope you realise that I'll never let you forget about your last score." Sanjis eye twitched as he could almost hear the demonic grin that accompanied his friends last statement. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. After all, this was exactly what he'd been expecting.

Being back to his cool self, he suavely said: "That would have been a really cool exit, but you still have to help me carry out the food. Dumbass." The panic was completely gone, replaced by slight shame that he doubted the man he considered a brother and confusion about Zoro that he stored in his mind for later. Now, it was time to be a cook and a host, too much time was wasted on thoughts that no longer mattered. Ace was slightly pouting, disappointed that his grand movie exit didn't turn out as he hoped.

"Here, take the drinks and put them on the table. Try not to drink everything on your way." Sanji ordered him then placed everything on the counter so they can carry it out in one go. He learned the hard way that taking two trips for food were not an option when Luffy sat at the table. Everything had to be placed at once and someone needed to hold him down while the ladies and chopper took what they wanted. Everyone else can fend for themselves. At that moment, Sanji realised how much he missed his friends. Every mealtime for the past two years was too quiet. Ace came back into the kitchen, pout still in place as he stood in front of Sanji and crossed his arms like a stubborn child. The blonde started laughing out loud, louder than the other has heard him laugh in way too long. He knew that the Sanji he knew was finally back. Each of them grabbed as many bowls and platters as they could carry and headed to the dining area that was just barely big enough for everyone gathered there. Thanks to Nami, Luffy was kept under control, but pouting nonetheless, while everyone took some food. There was no way it would be there for long, Sanjis cooking could give Luffy wet dreams after eating only Namis food for so long. She wasn't that bad, but no one could beat Sanji. Except maybe Zeff, but the old man would rather gut Luffy like a fish than feed him ever again. He was like a stray dog in that accord, feed him once and he'll keep coming back for more. That was another thing Sanji learned the hard way.

Still, no matter how bottomless Luffys stomach might appear, Sanji was glad to be home and surrounded by his friends. Watching them all (except for the ladies, of course) eat like starved beasts, he was happy rather than disgusted. While the male part of the crowd focused on eating (or rather, stuffing their faces), the girls were talking and eating slowly like the ladies they are. He couldn't help but overhear parts of their conversation, seeing as he was seated right next to them.

"So, what do you think, Robin? Wouldn't they make a good couple?" Nami may have asked that in with the most innocent voice she had, but the monstrosity of a grin on her face told another story.

"My, I don't really know. I haven't had the chance to get to know Perona a bit better.' Robin replied without changing her usual mysterious smile. _Perona? Wasn't that the gothic lolita chick from Namis class back in high school? I pity the poor sap that was going to, no doubt unwillingly, have to go on a date with her._

"But, Nami, didn't you say she's a bit... crazy?" Kaya cut in reluctantly. _If the rumours are true, crazy must be the understatement of the century and that speaks volumes coming from me. _"Why would you want someone like that with Zoro?"

Before Sanji could even decide whether to be surprised, shocked or horrified, Ace asked loudly: "Oh yeah, why didn't you invite Zoro? I told you he's part of the group now." Being an uncultured ape, he spoke with his mouth full, but everyone caught what he said. They seemed curious too, but not enough to stop eating and risk losing all the food to Luffys grabby hands.

"I did invite him, but he said he had other plans." Sanji was irritated again, he wasn't sure if every conversation ended up being about Zoro or he just imagined it. The guy wasn't even there and still he managed to annoy the hell out of Sanji. He tuned out the conversation around him as he wasn't really interested about what kind of plans mosshead had, with whom or why, but his interest was stirred again as Nami raised her voice and hushed everyone.

"Well, since he's not here, you guys might as well give your opinion too. Should I set him up on a date with Perona?"

Luffy and Usopp were the only ones that actually knew her, but obviously didn't share Namis enthusiasm about the idea. Luffy was simply gaping at his girlfriend, miraculously speechless for once in his life, food almost dripping out of his mouth, while everyone else sat there gaping disbelievingly at Luffy. Usopp finally collected himself and spoke, snapping everyones attention from Luffy.

"You can't do that to him! He's your friend! You don't do that to friends, Nami." He was brave when there was a whole table between him and the wannabe matchmaker. Luffy nodded in agreement which only added to the mass confusion that was present in everyone that didn't know who this Perona is. Franky collected his wits and spoke what almost everyone was thinking: "What's wrong with you guys? Zoro-bro should start dating and be happy, why wouldn't Nami find him someone?"

Sanji was increasingly interested in the subject with every passing minute, not that he would ever admit it out loud, but kept silent about the matter and tried to ignore the amused look Ace was shooting his way.

"He should be happy, but that's not possible with Perona. She's insane! There was a rumour a few years ago that she got a restraining order from her boyfriend after she stuffed him into a bear costume and duct-taped his mouth. He couldn't get out of the costume and spent a week in her room, unable to move in the cursed thing. Finally, after a week, his friends found him and got him out of there, but now he's afraid of her and animal costumes." Usopp finished his story that might as well have been one of his lies. No one expected for Luffy and Kaya to confirm it. Still, they didn't really believe it since Luffy was gullible and Kaya was Usopps girlfriend, until Nami spoke again: "That was three years ago, she's not the same anymore. Besides, Zoro can take it." They all knew Nami well enough to know she must have had an ulterior motive behind all of this. She never did things out of the kindness of heart, but they failed to see what she could gain from it. Sure, the image of Zoro again, Franky voiced what everyone was thinking.

"Why do you want him to date this girl so bad?"

"Why not? You said it yourself, he should start dating and be happy." Nami replied, sounding slightly defensive and awfully evasive. No one was really buying her explanation and poor Chopper just sat there the whole time, confused like never before. He was the youngest of the group and not as innocent as everyone seemed to think, but he still didn't understand why they all thought dating would mean instant happiness for Zoro. He didn't even know why they all thought Zoro wasn't happy so his concern was directed at everyone but Zoro, while Sanji stayed out of the conversation for the sake of his own sanity.

"Ugh, I'll just bring her to the party and introduce them. You'll see they'd make a good couple." Nami added and resumed eating, showing everyone that the discussion was over and her word was final. Luffy didn't have to be told twice and he went back to stuffing food into his mouth without even looking at it. Much to Sanjis discomfort, Ace was still looking at him with that awful all-knowing smile of his. It was unnerving. Everyone else went back to their food before it got cold or disappeared into Luffys mouth. No food was left behind with him. Soon after, conversations started flowing again and the matter of Zoro dating someone wasn't brought up again. Namis wrath was a fearsome thing and there wasn't a person present that wanted to invoke it. There was only one thing Sanji could think of that could describe the moment. _Just smile and wave, boys._

* * *

Zoro was sitting in a booth at Rayleghs bar between Eustass and Law, their attention turned to Brook who was currently in the middle of singing 'Bohemian rhapsody' by the piano near their table. Everyone was looking at him and the other two musicians, enjoying the show. It was an unspoken rule at the bar that one night every week, Brook and those guys would entertain everyone and collect donations in the form of beer or other alcohol. The three sitting in the booth would mostly drink everything Brook collected before he even finished playing.

Ever since he left Aces place four days ago, Zoro had a weird feeling of being watched wherever he went. He was sure it was all due to the paranoia of Ace promising to talk to Sanji. All of it was messing with his head too much and he didn't like it. Shakki was approaching them with a tray full of booze and his thoughts were gone in a flash. She placed all of it in front of them and, to their surprise, sat in the booth with them choosing the spot opposite Zoro. The three of them waited patiently for her to start talking; it was highly unlikely that she just sat there because she enjoyed their company. After all, it was her who kicked them out of the bar every week. The name on the bar might have been Rayleighs, but she was the one everyone feared and respected as if she owned the place. She took her time rolling up a cigarette and placing it in her mouth while Law had a lighter ready the second the filter touched her lips. She took a drag of smoke and maintained eye contact with Zoro the whole time. Chills were running up and down his spine, he was feeling like a teenager in front of the principle after being caught smoking pot behind the school. You could cut the tension with a knife and the other two felt it, but they knew it luckily wasn't about them.

"Someone was asking about you." She broke the silence, her gaze still resting on Zoros eyes.

"I... what?" he wasn't expecting that. Leave it to Shakki to create a situation for something trivial. The two next to him must have thought the same thing as they turned their attention back to Brook, losing interest in the woman in front of them.

"There was a girl looking for you. She didn't tell me her name or why she needed you, but apparently she knows you." That was enough for Law and Eustass to turn their attention back to Zoro; after all, it wasn't every day that a girl was looking for him there. They usually stayed a few feet away and just stared at him.

"Oookay... When?" was all he was able to ask, still highly confused.

"A few days ago. That's all I can tell you. I have a feeling she'll be back, though." She stubbed her cigarette butt on an ashtray on the table and got up. "She was really pretty, too." The bartender walked away with a smile, not really caring that the three boys in the booth had no idea what just happened.

"So, a girl? Something you wanna tell us?" Eustass didn't wait long to ask, but he himself didn't really know what to ask.

"What? You heard what Shakki said and you know who it was as much as I do." And he really couldn't think of a pretty girl that could have been asking about him at the bar. He didn't really know that many girls to begin with and the ones he did know were at the cooks place for dinner or back in Japan. His interest in the matter wasn't that great, if the mystery girl really needed something from him, she'd find him eventually. "I'll tell you when I find out what it's about."

Luckily, they dropped the matter. Well, Eustass dropped it, Law wasn't that interested in the first place. Nothing could really catch his attention for more than a few minutes, as far as Zoro knew. They continued to drink in silence, enjoying the music their friend was making. Time seemed to just fly by; Eustass found a girl to take home and Law left for work, while Brook made friends left and right. Zoro didn't mind drinking alone, he came there more for the drinks than for the company, though he enjoyed that too mostly. He wasn't planning on staying for long, he had stuff to do and work in the morning. These weren't really plans that he couldn't change, but he didn't feel like being in the same room as Sanji and Ace while the latter had ongoing plans to make his life hell. It would probably amuse him even more in front of other people, but probably the most in front of Sanji. Two birds with one stone, as they say. Deep in thought, he almost didn't notice someone sit opposite him. He looked up and his gaze locked on to a pair of black eyes.

"Hi, Zoro." she said with a smile. "It's been a while."

His face revealed pure shock as he took in that all too familiar pale face, the tiny freckles on her cheeks, the thin pink lips curved into the most beautiful smile and most of all her eyes. Two black orbs like a pair obsidian stones, boring into the depths of his soul.

"Ishilly?"

**There, done. Hope you enjoyed it and if you did, let me know :D**


	4. Bonus story: Ishilly

**This is a bonus story, chapter 4 will be posted in a day or two. One piece still isn't mine.**

_Two years ago_

Ishilly was standing at the airport, tears staining her face as she watched the love of her life leave forever. She was left behind with kind words and memories of what must have been the best year of her life. Zoro was the best thing that happened to her and she would have followed him to the ends of the earth if he asked. But he didn't; he said long distance relationships don't work and with that, he was out of her life. Tears were still streaming down her freckled cheeks, black eyes staring relentlessly into the door that closed after Zoro went through it. _Maybe he comes back._ She knew he wouldn't, though and she couldn't help but remember how they met.

She was always one of the most beautiful and most popular girls in class. It was the usual drill; girls wanted to be her, guys wanted to date her and all that. Nothing that held her interest anymore. Until a certain green haired teen enrolled in her school and became the centre of attention. Mostly female attention, but no one held a candle to the interest Ishilly started to develop. There was just something exotic about his hair and looks, not to mention how he kept to himself; it gave him an air of mystery and danger that no girl could ever resist. It wasn't long before her curiosity got the better of her and she followed him after class. The streets of Kyoto were always fairly crowded at that time of day and blending into the mass of people was an easy task for her – a task that wasn't easy in the slightest for the object of her interest. That in itself helped Ishilly follow him. He was wearing headphones, lost in the music and his own thoughts, obviously not paying attention to his surroundings. He was detached, indifferent and that only served to fuel her curiosity. It irked her that he didn't show any interest in her yet, but that must have been because he was still new and he was popular. Yes, that was it. She should take matters into her own hands and introduce herself. Who wouldn't want HER, anyway? She continued following him to a dojo; she knew it, of course, everyone in town did. The owner had quite the reputation as a master swordsman, but also as an eccentric that rarely took students that he trained himself. So her mystery man was a swordsman. _How exciting. _Ishilly wished she could go inside and watch him; it must have been quite a sight, but alas she wasn't allowed to. She had to settle for a walk home with thoughts about him. His name was also a mystery, she realised, but that would be easy to find out.

By the time they actually met each other, she knew almost everything there was to know about Zoro; watching him from afar was a part of Ishillys daily routine so the actual introduction was fairly anticlimactic, but it must have been love at first sight for him. What else could it be, really? Before long, they were dating and she couldn't be happier. The feeling seemed so foreign to her as she stood at the airport, remembering.

Zoro lived with his uncle and aunt; they didn't really approve of their relationship because Zoro was there to work on his swordsmanship. Ishilly didn't care much for their disapproval and Zoro didn't seem to either. To her friends it looked like an obsession, but she knew it was love. True love, even. That fact made it okay for her to follow him when they weren't together and deal with other girls that showed too much interest in HER boyfriend. It's completely reasonable to slip some pills into the drink of a bitch that dared to speak to Zoro. How did they not see he was taken? She could still remember his touch like it was yesterday. She could remember the first time they kissed, first time they slept together, that one time he beat up someone for trying to steal her purse and when he took her to the festival. He bought her a musical pendant with the great wave painted on it; it is her most prized possession. It was a promise to be together until the end of their lives.

The tears started again. She didn't move from her spot, eyes glued to the door that remained closed. Hope was draining from her along with the tears. Somewhere that seemed miles away, she could hear a plane take off. This couldn't be the end and it wouldn't be. She will find him again and they can be happy. After what seemed like hours, she wiped her tears and turned to leave. He was gone for good now, but she can follow him to the States. Zoro never told her where exactly he and his grandfather lived, but once she finds what city it is, everything else would be easy. Moving as if in a trance, she reached the exit and stepped onto the street. The tears were gone by now, replaced with resolution. She can do this. Zoro can't just run from her, they were meant to be together forever. Strolling from the airport roughly in the direction of her house, Ishilly started thinking about a plan. First thing she should do is befriend Tashigi; she is Zoros cousin and they lived together while he was there. After all, her father owned the dojo where Zoro trained so no one in the city knew him better than Tashigi. Other than Ishilly herself, of course. Tashigi knows where he is going. _I'll find him again. _With those thoughts in her head and a smile on her face, Ishilly knew everything will be fine soon.


	5. If you touch me you'll be stained

**Sorry I'm late with the update, I've been bad. I promise chapter 5 will be up much faster. The title is from the song 'Leave a scar' by Marilyn Manson (although a bit changed) and I don't own One piece.**

**If you touch me you'll be stained for the rest of your life**

It was New Years Eve and the Galley-La was almost empty. Not entirely surprising since it was closed for a private party; it can be useful to know the owner or his brother. Well, in this case, it paid off to have Nami organize the party and coax Franky into getting the club for the night. She also, like she usually does, coaxed the rest of the gang into coming early and setting everything up. Ace and Franky were in the middle of rearranging the tables when Sanji and Conis arrived with food. It didn't take long for them to get their own assignments; Conis moved to help Vivi and Chopper with the decorations while Sanji started moving chairs around the tables Ace and Franky set up. As far as Sanji could see, Usopp and a suspiciously tall skinny man were doing something with the equipment on the stage and Robin was bringing the rest of the food from the cooks car. He would have brought it himself, but Nami was too quick to give him something else to do. She was still fuming that Zoro wasn't there yet and she was yelling at a redheaded man sitting at the bar like it was his fault. The redhead gazed at him with slight suspicion or recognition, Sanji couldn't tell for sure, but he most definitely wasn't paying any attention to what Nami was saying. How very rude of him, treating a lady like that. It was almost as if he didn't even notice how stunning she looked in her tight blue dress that seemed to bring out the colour of her hair. It was only then that Sanji notice the lack of her usually very lively boyfriend.

"Hey, Nami" he said, putting a stop to her rampage and getting her attention "where's Luffy?"

"Oh, he'll be here later with Law and Kaku. He'd only eat all the food if I let him come early." she replied, still annoyed and immediately turning back to the redhead. Sanji didn't know who Law and Kaku were, but he wasn't going to ask and invoke Namis wrath upon himself.

Setting a table down, Ace wiped his forehead and moved closer to Sanji. "Law and Kaku are friends of Zoros. So are Kidd over there" he said, pointing at the indifferent redhead "and Brook." he continued, this time pointing at the skinny man on stage. "They hang out with us from time to time, but mostly it's just Zoro and Brook." Sanji nodded, suddenly very aware that Ace knew his secret and was maniacally smiling right next to him. _This is going to be a long night. _

The room was filled with chatter and Namis yelling along with scraping of tables on the floor and the occasional musical sound coming from the stage so no one heard when more people entered the club area, but the attention was soon turned to the newcomers. Nami stopped yelling and was blatantly staring at Zoro and the raven haired girl with freckles on her cheeks. She was wearing striped black and white pants and a black shirt under a knee length black coat, but the most shocking thing about her was the fact she was holding hands with Zoro. Sanji and Ace, standing next to one another, were easily the most shocked pair in the room; after all, Sanji assumed that the green haired man was gay, despite what Ace might say and Ace was plain shocked that Zoro actually found a date for the party. He was, for all intents and purposes, convinced that his stoic friend liked Sanji.

"Uhm, hi?" Zoro broke the silence speaking a bit sceptically. The girl was just standing there, smiling. "What the hell, guys?" he added, still suspicious at the way his friends were staring at them. Snapping out of whatever the hell that was, almost everyone mumbled an apology. Ace, being as subtle as a brick in the face about these things, asked what everyone was thinking about "So, who's your friend?"

Zoro opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off before he managed to say anything.

"I'm Ishilly and I'm not his friend." she said and, after a short pause, added "I'm his girlfriend."

* * *

While Zoro removed his jacket following with Ishillys coat and placed them on a table in the corner with the other coats, everyone introduced themselves to the mysterious girl. Robin stood next to Nami and they both observed her carefully; call it female intuition, but they both felt that something was off about her. Neither could say for sure what exactly it was, but there was something. The guys, with the intuition of a dead fish, didn't notice anything.

Introductions didn't take long and Namis anger was back. "Zoro! You're late! You and Kidd get your asses in the storage room and bring more drinks." she yelled at them. Kidd still looked uninterested, but he got up from his bar stool and started moving to the door behind the bar, Zoro close behind him. "And don't drink anything!" she added as they were about to go through the door. The hostility booming from behind her was almost tangible; Ishilly obviously didn't like anyone yelling at Zoro. Robin chuckled silently next to Nami, noticing the situation immediately. This could turn into a really fun night. Only the two of them knew that Nami invited Perona to the party so she could introduce her to Zoro. Turning to Robin, Nami whispered "Well, I guess Zoros girlfriend and I won't be friends." They glanced at the newcomer and noticed she was still smiling sweetly as she weight both of them out. It was a bit unnerving and equally creepy, but Robin could hold her own when it came to creepy and unnerving.

The others went back to their work after Namis display of rage; no one wanted to risk being in the centre of it. This gave Ace a chance to move close to Sanji. "So, are you okay?" he asked, trying hard not to laugh at the confused look on the blondes face.

"I'm fine. Why?" his eyes narrowed with suspicion. Ace was up to something.

"Well, Zoro has a girlfriend. You okay?" Ace was barely containing his giggles.

"Dude, I have a girlfriend too." Sanji replied slightly dumfounded, casually waving his hand in the direction of a certain blonde. This seemed to crush Aces spirits; Sanji wasn't being awkward about this like he expected and that just wasn't fun. He saw Zoro behind the bar and regained his good mood. After all, Zoro didn't know about his little talk with Sanji. With an overly bright smile on his face, Ace carefully strolled to the bar; obvious enough for Sanji to see him, but still inconspicuous enough to avoid Namis radar. Zoro seemed to notice him approach, but he didn't miss the confused blonde in the background either. Ace sat on a barstool, placing both his elbows on the bar and resting his chin on his hands. "So, a girlfriend." he said and Zoro knew he was being accused for not saying anything. With a sigh followed by a frown, Zoro knew Ace owned his ass now.

* * *

Nami had a sixth sense about these things; as soon as someone stopped working, she knew. Ace was no exception. Like an ominous storm, she approached him from behind and loomed above him until he felt chills run up his spine.

"Don't you have something to do?" her voice was quiet, but dangerous.

"Well...I...uhm.." It was shameful how he stuttered, but stronger men have been reduced to a blubbering mess when facing Namis rage.

"Since you have nothing better to do, you can go pick up Vivi and Kaya." she said and the dark cloud of misery that was hanging over Ace disappeared. He sighed, grateful that he didn't get yelled at and grabbed his coat. "They're at Vivis place." He nodded while putting on his coat, fished his car keys from his pocket and left. When she was sure he's gone, Nami turned to Zoro. "You go help Sanji with the rest of the tables and chairs when you finish here." she simply said and walked off to bother someone else because that's pretty much all she did. Ever. Zoro just continued stocking the bar with more drinks, wondering why he had to help the blonde. _Might as well try and be friends with the guy. _

Sanji shared his enthusiasm, or the lack of it; just didn't know it yet. He was lucky that Ace wasn't there, though. He was pretty slow at his job since his upper body strength wasn't all that grand. Still, he did his best to try and finish before his help came over. After 15 excruciatingly long minutes, he still wasn't done. Taking a short break, Sanji stared into a wall, enveloped in random thoughts and only hearing occasional giggling from the girls that were putting some final touches on the decorations. His zoning out was cut short when a chair landed on the floor with a loud thud right next to him.

"Stop daydreaming and help me finish this before the witch has another fit." a gruff voice said and Sanji immediately knew who it was. He sighed.

"Don't call her a witch, moss-for-brains, she's a lady." he replied monotonously, but still grabbed another chair. There wasn't even a lot of work left, he didn't need the help.

"Idiot." came the reply. Zoro could see that the blonde was getting riled up and he knew he was to blame, but that really wasn't his intention. The now fuming blonde opened his mouth to say something offensive, but he stopped in his tracks when more ladies entered the room. And Ace.

Oh Ace was enjoying the sight of his friends working together, albeit he was a bit surprised at first. He took his time taking off his coat and making his way towards Zoro and Sanji; Vivi was in the middle of introducing Kaya to the latter. The introductions were kept short with Nami looming from the distance and the girls hurried to join her. Ace took this opportunity to approach the awkward pair; they were in the middle of arranging the last pair of chairs and he wanted to be there when they're done. They both stopped in their tracks, possible scenarios playing in their heads. Zoro had no idea that Ace and Sanji talked so he was left paranoid that his freckled friend would blurt something out in front of the blonde, thus successfully crushing any chance of a friendship. Sanji, on the other hand, didn't want to talk to either of them about a certain topic when there were so many people (including his girlfriend) in the same room. And then there was Ace who wanted to have some fun. He was allowed to mess with them both; after all, Sanji kept something important from him for 2 years and Zoro was in obvious denial which was cruel to his new girlfriend.

"You guys need help?" he asked, relishing in the nervous twitchy nature of his friends behaviour.

"I don't..." "We're..." they both started at the same time only to stop talking right away and turn their ever-so-slightly blushing faces away from each other. _Fucking adorable. _Ace was amused beyond words and he didn't even say anything yet.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch it." he said, barely containing laughter.

They, to Aces surprise, actually looked at each other and Sanji spoke "We're done here. You should ask Nami, though." He was keeping his cool, patiently waiting to see what Ace wants.

"You two are adorable." Ace said, thrilled by the shocked looks and Zoros obvious panic. It was really a sight he started to like very much. Zoro collected his wits and dared to speak, still worried that Ace might blurt something out.

"Are you drunk?"

"Nope." he said with a grin and moved between the two, placing an arm on both their shoulders, dragging them closer to him and each other. "I'm just happy everyone's here. Especially you two." The grin was unwavering and they both had to admit that he did look happy.

The only person that didn't look happy was Ishilly; she stood with the other girls, still being introduced to everyone, but her eyes never left Zoro or the two with him. They were guys, but she knew that relaxing around anyone could cost her dearly. As far as she's concerned, they were both suspicious until proven otherwise. She politely excused herself and made her way to Zoro. It was obvious there was something going on there and she didn't like it. In all honesty, there wasn't a lot she liked when it came to Zoro being around people other than her.

They noticed her approaching immediately and Ace let both of his confused friends go. Sanji didn't waste any time to gently grab Ishillys hand, compliment her and offer her something to drink.

"No, thank you." her words were polite, but the look on her face showed utter disgust as she pulled her hand free and latched onto Zoro like her life depended on it. Or like she wanted to show that he was only hers. The moss head remained oblivious to her behaviour, but the other two didn't miss her strange was she acted. Several other pairs of eyes were observing the whole exchange and it only solidified Namis belief that something was off with the raven.

* * *

Nami called everyone to gather around the bar; everything was done and it was only a matter of time before people started to arrive. Luffy came with Kaku and Law as planned. Valentine, Aces date for the evening was already there and introduced to everyone along with the infamous Perona that was currently sulking in the corner. Only a few of those gathered there failed to notice that the number of crazy girls present at the party was skyrocketing and people were still coming. Franky and Kidd placed trays with drinks on the bar; Nami wanted them to do a toast before everyone arrived. Their circle of friends got expanded a bit, but it didn't matter.

Brook and his band took the stage as more people arrived. Franky and Kidd had bartender duty for the first hours; other than serving drinks, their job was to keep Luffy away from the food and Zoro from the booze. Ishillys job was to keep Zoro away from other girls, Sanji and Ace while Ace took it upon himself to try and catch Zoro and Sanji together, not paying attention to Valentine that kept following him like a puppy. In the meantime, Perona and her stuffed bear were trying to get closer to Zoro because she was promised a date with him; whether he has a girlfriend or not was none of her concern. This left Robin on the sidelines, watching the strange behaviour of the people around her. It was interesting how there was so much connected to Zoro and Sanji. Besides, she didn't fail to notice how the two acted around each other and even more how they acted around Ace. She was never much for partying, but this turned out interesting; it's like a behavioural study. She took her drink from Franky (with an inevitable kiss) and occupied a table on the platform next to the stage. It gave her a really good view of everything and everyone.

Zoro managed to unclutch Ishilly from his arm when she started trying to kill Perona with the power of her mind; while Perona was trying to do the same to her. He snuck over to the bar where a drink was already waiting for him. Kidd knew him too well, apparently. Luffy was all over him in a flash, clinging to Zoros back like a monkey on speed. His goal was to get Zoro to give him some food, but his plan to annoy the moss head into throwing food at him in blind rage didn't work. His next bet was on Sanji; he was a cook, surely he would feed a starving person. Nevermind that the starving person in question already ate half of the meat they had and emptied Laws fridge only an hour earlier. Sanji was dragged from Conis and the other ladies to the bar, Luffy didn't even give him a chance to ask questions. Luffy seemed to launch him towards the bar and sent him crashing probably the only occupied barstool; the one Zoro was sitting on. They both tumbled to the ground in a heap of limbs and colourful curses. The culprit for the current situation stood next to them, smiling sheepishly, but regained his senses fast enough and turned his attention to the unguarded food.

Ace was quick to jump to the scene with a ready camera to take incriminating pictures without anyone (mainly Ishilly) noticing. Freckles didn't like the vibe she gave off, but still wasn't sure if the vibe was that of a person madly in love or just plain mad. Snapping a few more photos, just to be on the safe side, Ace retreated in Robins direction. She, of course, hadn't missed a thing from her spot and always had a ready camera at parties or gatherings of any kind. Her keen mind knew there was something between the two occupants of the heap of misery and Ace, she just didn't figure out what it was and tricking the latter into telling her was the best way to go. The other two are too stubborn and Sanji may be weak to the power of a lady, but he had a lady of his own now so it wouldn't really be nice to trick him like that. Ace sat down next to Robin and thanked her for the camera.

"Are you going to tell me what that's all about?" she smiled at him; the usual smile she wore that made her look polite, but carried a threat to a keen observer.

"I just wanted to take pictures of the party and that seemed like a really good thing to photograph. Nothing more." he shrugged. Sure, that wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie either. He knew Robin can keep secrets, but this wasn't his secret to tell. She hummed in reply, noticing that there was more to it, but didn't press for information. Her attention turned back to the two unfortunate boys at the bar; they managed to untangle themselves and all the spectators lost interest so they were left to their embarrassment. They both got up, Zoro picking up his stool and sitting on it again while Sanji dusted himself off then sat down on a stool next to Zoro. Kidd already had drinks ready for them both, proving that he was more than fitted for a career as a bartender. Franky had a more difficult task; namely, pulling Luffy off the food and keeping him away.

The raven haired spectators, now two of them, observed as Ishilly tried to reach Zoro only to be intercepted by Nami. Did she also notice something about those two and wanted to give them some alone time or was she just acting on a whim, they didn't know. It didn't really matter, anyway, as Zoro and Sanji sat next to each other, both trying to hide a blush from one another. Ace was rooting for them to try and talk to each other, but it was out of his hands for now. Ungrateful bastards, didn't even try to appreciate his efforts.

Sanji sat next to the moss head, still sporting a blush from their earlier awkward fall, but was encouraged to sit there by the fact that Zoro didn't mention anything about their secret after that initial encounter. Maybe friendship was possible, but he would have to make an effort too. Whatever effort he was going to make was stopped as the moss head decided to speak first.

"Did Luffy really just fling you across the room without you hitting anything or anyone before reaching the bar?" there was a note of genuine curiosity in his voice.

Sanji sat there silent for a few seconds and Zoro thought he said the wrong thing thus ruining the only chance he got so far, until Sanji started to laugh. And laugh harder.

"I guess he did." he spoke between chuckles. "I can't believe he did that... successfully." He fell into another fit of laughter and was soon joined by Zoro. Sanji stopped laughing for a bit, surprised at the sound of the others laughter. He realised he never heard it before and it was a sound he didn't hate hearing, he noticed.

"Why the hell did he do that anyway?" he said, unsuccessfully trying to stifle his laughter.

Sanjis laughter was out of control and it took a while for him to calm down. "I don't know..." His laughter was still uncontrollable. "I think it had something to do with food." he coughed a bit and slowly calmed down. "Jesus, he'll kill me one day." They both burst into laughter again.

"What, you'd die just from that?" Zoro asked, convincing himself that what he was doing was not in fact giggling like a schoolgirl. "About a year ago, he came to my grandfathers dojo with Ace and someone was dumb enough to let him train with a real short sword. Well, more like play. He ended up stabbing me in the ass with it and I had to sit on a donut pillow for a month." Sanji stared wide eyed at the moss head and couldn't believe what he just heard.

"He... stabbed you in the ass?" he could barely think straight, this was hilarious. He was almost choking because of the laughter he was trying to keep in. Zoro was blushing, but on the verge of laughter himself. They were cackling with tears in their eyes.

"And he had to wait for the ambulance for half an hour with his ass in the air and a sword sticking out of it." Aces voice startled them both, his face in the space between them. They were frozen in an awkward silence for what seemed to be an eternity until all three of them burst out laughing. Zoro was blushing, after all it was an embarrassing situation for him, but even he could see how fucking funny it sounds.

"Sanji, don't laugh at him so hard." Ace said, laughter contained barely enough for his words to be understandable. "Remember that time in high school when you ended up hanging above the stage with your pants around your ankles?" Ace was crying by that point, the memory of his friend in that predicament making him laugh like he hadn't in a long while. Sanjis face was the colour of a ripe tomato as he remembered that unfortunate day and Zoro was in the same state as Ace; he may not have been there when it happened, but he did have a vivid imagination and imagining this particular scene was both easy and hilarious.

"Ace, shut up!" he threatened, but his voice held no bite to it, but Zoro wouldn't have it.

"Ace, tell the whole story." Sanji shot a threatening look his way and any weaker man might have been intimidated, but Zoro held his stare and said "You heard the story about me using a damn donut pillow like an old man with hemorrhoids ."

"Well..." Ace started. "We were all helping on a play in high school. Sanji here was in charge of the curtain and some props. Anyway, Luffy somehow managed to get him tangled in some ropes and when he tried cutting one to set him free, he cut the wrong rope. That one was tied to one of those sacks full of sand and the thing fell on stage, almost on the main actress and the ropes pulled Sanji up somehow ripping his pants. By the way, do you still have those pink boxers?" he finished and was awarded with another round of laughter. Even Sanji was laughing, but the embarrassment was still evident on his face.

Before he could think, Zoro spoke "Pink ones with little chef hats and spatulas on them?" He was still laughing until all three realised what he said. Sanji and Zoro sat there, frozen and unable to look at each other.

"I'll take that as a yes." Ace said and walked away, his chuckling blending into the sounds of music.

Zoro wanted to justify himself; he didn't say it on purpose, it just kind of flew out. Things were going really well and it wasn't awkward until he ruined it.

His chance for fixing the situation was gone when two pale arms wrapped around Sanjis shoulders.

"Sanji, dance with me." Conis said. She didn't wait for an answer and pulled Sanji to his feet. He glanced at Zoro before disappearing in the small crowd that gathered in the club while they were talking.

Ishilly didn't wait long to appear on the barstool Sanji occupied only moments ago. "Are you okay?" she asked, placing a hand on his cheek. "You look distracted."

He turned to her and smiled "I'm okay, I was just about to go and find you." He stood up and placed a hand in front of her. "Do you want to dance?" He didn't dance often, but he saw no reason not to dance now. He and Ish danced before; it may have been slightly awkward, but he was better at dancing now.

She smiled the brightest smile he ever saw on her face. "Yes, I'd love to dance." They moved to the dance floor, holding hands and smiling at each other. They felt like they were in high school all over again; the first few weeks when they started dating. They did just start dating again, though.

Ace and Robin were watching again; this time not together, but seeing the same scene play out. The main difference being that Ace knew what happened and not all that happy about it. Robin, on the other hand, could see the expressions on Sanjis and Zoros faces change as they separated and went with their respective girlfriends. She wasn't included in the secrets of their relationship; there was a relationship, without a doubt, but it was not known to her what kind it was. Yet, it was obvious to her that the happiness they displayed with each other couldn't measure with the one they showed with the girls.


	6. Von meiner brennende Liebe

**Do not own One piece. Sorry it took so long again, I had trouble with my internet. The title is from the song Brennende liebe by Oomph! **

**Von meiner brennende Liebe kann dich kein Gott und kein Wunder mehr befreien**

The number of people at the party increased drastically as midnight was approaching. Zoro didn't really know most of the people there so he joined Kidd behind the bar; Franky didn't mind ending his duty early if it meant more time with Robin who barely moved from her spot near the stage. Kidd on the other hand didn't mind working behind a bar, after all he worked behind that same bar most nights of the week and almost felt like at home there.

"Where do I know that blonde from?" Kidd asked, nodding his head in Sanjis direction. "He looks familiar, but I can't place him."

Zoro glanced in the direction his friend was looking. It's like everywhere he turned, someone was shoving Sanji in to his face.

"I don't know, he just got back from Sweden or somewhere." he replied. He had to refrain himself from adding that he only met the blonde a week or so ago; lying to Kidd was never a good idea. Mostly, he saw through the lies, but he would never forgive a friend that even tried lying to him.

The redhead nodded in reply. No need to ask more questions if Zoro didn't know, but he had a nagging feeling that he met the blonde guy before.

The music stopped for a moment, long enough for Brook to announce a short break for the band. Usopp took over as the DJ while the band made their way to the bar. Zoro and Kidd already had drinks waiting for them. Law and Kaku joined them soon enough while almost everyone else danced, mostly intoxicated already. Nami was close behind.

"Kidd, you can go have fun, Kaku's gonna take over behind the bar." she said, gave them a mean look that meant the booze is off limits for the bartenders and was soon off to pry Luffy away from the decreasing amount of food. Kaku and Kidd did as they were told; they simply switched places. In the meantime, Law was intently observing something like he mostly did.

"Okay, can someone please explain who that gothic lolita chick is and why is she trying to bore a whole in Zoros head the whole time?" he spoke with an amused smirk on his face. Perona was indeed hard to miss, lurking in corners with a stuffed teddy in her hands while trying to set Zoro or Ishilly on fire. At least that's how everyone interpreted her look, as far as Law knew, she might have been trying to flirt with Zoro from a safe distance. The huge black dress she wore and the long pink hair didn't really make her inconspicuous, either. Being inconspicuous was a concept unfamiliar to the men sitting at the bar; they all turned towards her at the same time, startling Perona in the process. She squeezed the bear tighter and pulled him up to cover the lower half of her face thus leaving only her big beady eyes visible.

Zoro sighed; both at the fact Law noticed her and at the way his friends were being morons.

"I have no idea who she is or why she's staring at me, but Ish doesn't like her." he said, turning his attention back at cutting limes and lemons. Brook turned back to his drink and visibly perked up.

"I know." he stated without giving a sign of actually elaborating on it. The others stared at him dumbfounded, waiting for an explanation. Zoro shook off the confusion and spoke "You know who she is?"

"Yes, I do." he replied and took another sip of his wine, going silent yet again. He must have known he was annoying the hell out of his friends and it wasn't completely impossible that he was thoroughly enjoying it. Kidd, not known for his calm personality, was at the end of his patience as he slammed his glass on the bar.

"Well, damn it, Brook, talk!" his voice was raised, but it barely registered as such amidst the loud music and chatter around them. His expression was one of annoyance, but his friends knew it was probably more because of the girl than the fact Brook was messing with them.

Brook chuckled behind his wine glass before he set it down on the bar. "I believe that, my friends, is Perona." he said. They all stopped what they were doing and stared at their skinny friend. Of course they all heard of Perona, she was surrounded by so many creepy rumours, it was hard not to know about her. "And I believe dear Nami promised her a date with Zoro." he added and laughed at the astonished faces of the men around him, especially Zoros face that showed an amazing combination of horror, shock and disbelief. He was too stumped to speak while the others joined Brook in a fit of laughter. The image of Zoro on a date with Perona was hilarious to everyone but the man in question.

"What the fuck?!" his scream wasn't really manly, but he had every right to be pissed. People seemed to think they had a right to interfere with his love life lately. Sure, Nami always stuck her nose in other peoples business, but this was beyond her usual nosiness; he made it clear to her that he wasn't a fan of blind dates. There was also the matter of his overly jealous girlfriend that, to his ignorance, always kept a close eye on him.

The urge to bang his head on the bar was strong at the moment with all his friends laughing and a creepy girl staring at him from the darkest corner she could find. The awkward conversation with Sanji found its way into Zoros head again. Usually, he had more luck in life. This must mean something really good is coming his way, but until then, there was one thought buzzing through his mind.

_Why me?_

* * *

It was amazing how Zoro had poor luck lately. Law had a good laugh with the others about the Perona matter, but he knew all of them agreed that Nami did a bitchy thing there. The laughter stopped after a while; Brook and his guys returned to the stage while Zoro continued brooding and scaring people that wanted drinks.

Law got up from his barstool with a smile and made his way to the back door through the crowd on the dance floor. He really needed a smoke somewhere quiet. The door opened with a thud and Law heard one of the most creative curses ever from the other side of the door. He carefully stepped out into the cold night air and looked at the blonde person he just hit with a heavy metal door. Sanji was still cursing, standing there with his back turned to Law and his cigarette rolling away from him on the ground; he must have dropped it when the door smacked him in the back of his head.

"Sorry for that." Law said, looking at the other, but not seeing his face. "Let me look at it, I'm a doctor."

Sanji lowered his hands from the back of his head and turned around. He wasn't cursing anymore and his face didn't show any anger, which was good, but he didn't really look happy either.

"It's okay, I don't think it's bleeding." Sanji said and pulled another cigarette from his pocket. Law pulled out a cigarette of his own while Sanji lit his and offered the lighter to the doctor.

"I don't think we've met." Law said, extending his right hand. "I'm Law."

"Sanji." the blonde accepted and shook the others hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You're not enjoying the party?" Law asked.

"Oh, I just wanted to get some air." They both looked at the lit cigarettes in their hands and chuckled. "Okay, I wanted some piece, too."

Sanji finished his cigarette fast. He threw the filter on the ground and stepped on it, then turned to the door.

"You sure your head's okay?" Law asked before the blonde disappeared inside.

"It's fine, thanks." He smiled before adding "See you." He stepped inside and the door closed behind him. Law turned his back on the wall and took a few steps to the side, leaning on the wall; if someone opened the door the way he did, he might end up with a head injury and that wasn't the way he wanted to end his night.

He finished the first cigarette fast and took another one just as the door opened. Law wasn't really expecting Kidd, but wasn't really surprised to see him either.

"It's almost midnight, what are you doing here alone?" Kidd asked, leaning his right shoulder to the wall and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I'm not alone, mister Eustass." Law said with a smirk, his hand holding a lit cigarette hovering in front of his face.

Kidd waited for Law to finish smoking and throw the cigarette away. Before the doctor could say anything, he was pinned to the wall by two bare pale hands. They both smile, their faces only inches apart. "What is it you're doing, mister Eustass?" Law whispered, even though they were alone.

"We should tell them." Kidd said, ignoring the others question. "Tonight."

Law was a bit stunned by the request, they didn't really talk about that even after six months of this relationship. Before he could reply, a pair of dark lips was pressed against his own and his line of thought changed, his hands moved to Kidds hip bones on their own. He'll cross that tell-people-I'm-dating-my-straight-friend bridge when he gets to it.

* * *

It was only minutes to midnight and Sanji couldn't wait for it to come and go so he can leave; he usually liked every gathering with his friends, but this party weirder than he thought was possible. He could see Ace lurking about, just biding his time and waiting for Conis to turn her attention to something else. Then there was that weird pink haired girl with the teddy. Usopp told him who she was and Sanji couldn't imagine the mosshead on a date with her. Without laughing, that is. Speaking of the mosshead, he was behind the bar, his beautiful girlfriend nowhere in sight.

Sanji had to sigh, he was paranoid and possibly going crazy. No one is out to get him. Ace doesn't really lurk, that man doesn't know how to be subtle. He calmed down a bit and hugged Conis.

Everyone was gathered on the dance floor. Ishilly dragged Zoro from behind the bar to join the others for the countdown. With only a minute to go, Brook stopped the music and waited patiently with an eye on the clock. To Valentines disappointment, Ace walked in Choppers direction through the couples on the dance floor.

"10...9...8..." Brook started the countdown and everyone joined in. "7...6...5..."

"4"

"3"

"2"

"1"

"Happy New Year!" everyone chimed in before turning to the tradition of kissing someone at midnight. Sanji kissed Conis, happy that they're celebrating the first of many New Years in Boston. Even Luffy stilled enough to kiss Nami, grateful that she doesn't mind how lively his personality is sometimes while Zoro held Ishilly; he wasn't sure about his feelings for her, but he was happy in that moment nevertheless. Ace hugged Chopper around his small shoulders and kissed him on the top of his head, making the little guy blush and thus adding to Valentines jealousy and overall anger.

Bit by bit, everyones attention turned to the middle of the crowd. Kidd and Law were in a world of their own, ignoring everyone around them, possessively holding on to each other, lips still pressed together. Slowly, they parted and glanced at the people around them.

"I guess we told them." Law whispered to the other and followed with a chuckle.

Kidds face was as red as his hair, but this was what he wanted. "What?!" he barked at the crowd and Usopp quickly turned the music back on, distracting the people. Law was still chuckling; he came out of the closet a few years ago, but he knew how Kidd must have felt in that moment. Minutes ago, everyone gathered there knew him as a womanizer, making it hard to make sense of what they just witnessed. The two exchanged looks and knew it was time to explain to their other three friends.

* * *

Zoro couldn't believe his eyes. He wasn't a nosy person by nature, but he had to find out what that was about. Those two were his close friends and if they were dating, he'd know, right? Kaku and Brook seemed to have the same thoughts as they walked up to him, jaws almost dragging on the floor.

"What...?" Kaku uttered.

"No idea..." Zoro replied.

"Kidd is..." Brook started, but was too confused to continue. Just the other day, he was telling them about some random chick he banged.

The three could see reason for their confusion approaching. In their defence, they did look guilty and Kidds face was still almost as red as his hair. They stopped in front of Zoro and didn't say anything.

"What..." Kaku tried again, but didn't manage to utter more than one word.

"We a couple, I guess." Law said, casting a short glance at Kidd.

This brought a smile to Brooks face immediately. "How long?" he asked, liking the situation more and more.

"Well..." Kidd started, but looked at Law before he continued. Law just smiled and nodded, grabbing his hand in the meantime. "It kinda started about a year ago, I think, but we've been seeing only each other for six months now."

After the initial shock that they managed to keep something like this a secret for a year, confusion made way for happiness. Hey, if the two of them are happy, it's good.

Zoro got a chance to see how his friends would probably react if they found out about him and Sanji and he had to admit it wasn't that bad. He already knew they were great and all, but you can never know about some things. Ishilly was still by his side; she only met the guys a day ago so this was no big deal to her, but it gave her two more people to look out for. It just proved to her that she has to be careful of men too, but that blonde was on the top of her list along with that damn freckled bastard that was always close to her Zoro.

Kaku still seemed a bit stunned. "What about all those stories?"

"Lies." Kidd was scratching the back of his neck with slight embarrassment. "Sorry. Oh, but I did describe Law once." he started laughing and the others followed; none of them ever noticed anything like that. Law only narrowed his eyes at the redhead, obviously not amused.

Zoro chuckled and concluded that it was time he went home; the night brought numerous surprises and his own stupid mistakes. It all made him immensely tired. He didn't even listen to the conversation anymore; he noticed Sanji a few feet away and couldn't help but feel guilty again. Of all the things he could have said, he said the worst possible one.

Ishilly tugged at his shirt and looked at him with worry painted on her face. "We should go." she whispered and he nodded in reply. They said their goodbyes to the men around them; they were already starting a drinking contest and Ishilly started leading Zoro to the door, seemingly trying to leave without saying goodbye to anyone else. Ace and Chopper were already by the exit by the time they reached it. Chopper seemed to be leaving too.

"You guys leaving too?" Ace asked, evidently surprised. After all, it was barely past midnight.

"Yeah, I have to get up early to pick up Tashigi from the airport." Zoro replied.

"Need a ride?" Ace asked while putting on his jacket. "I'm taking Chopper home, so I can take you too."

"No, thanks, I'm going to my grandfathers house." Zoro said, then added "But you can give Ishilly a ride."

Both ravens were surprised at the request; Ishilly was expecting to go to Zoros place and Ace was amazed at how Zoro didn't notice the hostility his girlfriend was emitting to everyone except him.

"Sure, why not." Ace turned to her. "Shall we?"

Chopper was visibly tired, yawning like he hasn't slept in days. Probably hasn't.

Ishilly picked her coat and gave Zoro a quick kiss goodbye, doing a good job hiding the discontent she was feeling at the way things unfolded. He ruffled Choppers soft hair and made the little doctor-to-be smile. The three were out the door before long and Zoro took the opportunity to say bye to a few other people before he left; they weren't too happy usually when he just disappeared from a party and he learnt his lesson pretty fast.

Nami wasn't happy he was leaving because it meant she needed someone else behind the bar, Luffy didn't really care too much because it didn't interfere with his plans to finish off whatever little food was left and Robin wasn't surprised at all. He waved to Usopp and Kaya, Franky patted his shoulder in passing and he was out the door as well.

It was a cold night, but nothing surprising for New Years Eve in Boston. It wasn't snowing at the moment, so the beautiful white coat that covered the city was now gray and dirty. Spots of ice decorated the sidewalk and shined under the yellow streetlights. There were fireworks in the sky; shiny masses of colour exploding in the darkness, illuminating the crowds below. All in all, it would be a beautiful night if there were less people in the streets. Drunk girls in short skirts and high heels, screaming in excitement while equally drunk guys looked at them, waiting for an opportunity to take one of them home. It would be hours before things quieted down. This was one of those times when Zoro thanked his lucky star he was a heavy sleeper.

The light in the kitchen was still on when he entered the house. It wasn't all that surprising; he and his grandfather had a tradition for the night ever since it was just the two of them. Zoro took off his coat and shoes in the hall before walking to the kitchen. As he expected, Koshiro was sitting in his usual chair wearing a robe, reading a book with a bottle of sake on the table in front of him. It wasn't the usual stuff they drank, this was something special that aunt Ran sent every year for Christmas. They drank it for birthdays, after tournaments and New years. There were two cups waiting on the table next to the bottle.

"What are you still doing up?" Zoro asked.

Koshiro looked up and smiled. "I can't sleep, it's too loud outside." Zoro knew that wasn't the whole truth, but didn't say anything. He knew this was one of the rare traditions the two of them still had and it was important to them both not to break it. "And you're here earlier than I expected." the old man added.

"We have a tradition to uphold, ojii-san." Zoro said with a smile and sat down on a chair opposite Koshiro. The old man was smiling while pouring them both a generous amount of sake; they did this for years and Zoros alcohol tolerance was through the roof. As for Koshiro, he had more years of experience and besides, Zoro had to inherit his ability from someone.

Each emptied their cup in one long gulp and Koshiro was ready to refill them right away.

"Are you staying here?" the old man asked before they emptied their cups again.

"Yes, I'll borrow your car to go pick Tash up in the morning. When does her plane arrive?"

"It's at noon. I can go, there are no classes tomorrow."

"No, it's okay, I'll go." Zoro smiled at his grandfather. "You could take a day off for a change."

Reluctantly, Koshiro agreed and filled their cups for the third and last time. This time, they wished each other a happy new year before emptying them. Zoro got up and took the cups to the sink and washed them while Koshiro put the bottle away. Zoro was drying the cups when the old man placed a hand on his grandsons shoulder and bid him a good night.

Before long, Zoro was heading to his old room. While in the hallway, he noticed the other bedroom was open; cleaned out and prepared for Tashigi. As before, there were two beds, but only one was ready to be slept on again after a long while. Before the memories of his childhood came rushing to his mind, Zoro continue down the hall to his own room that was always kept like he still lived there.

* * *

His discipline was slipping again; it was almost 10 when he woke up. There was enough time to shower and have some breakfast before heading to the airport, but any form of training would have to wait. Maybe Tash would be up for a spar later.

Zoro pulled himself out of bed and, after grabbing a towel and some clothes, headed to the bathroom across the hall. While brushing his teeth, he took a good look at his reflection in the mirror; there was nothing on his face that would betray the thoughts swarming in his head. Thoughts of his disastrous end to an otherwise good conversation with Sanji, thoughts of the looks some of his friends shot in Ishillys direction, thoughts of Perona and mostly, thoughts of the way Ishilly was behaving. Despite popular belief, he was neither stupid nor blind; he could see how she looked at the girls he considered his friends. Hell, she looked at some of the guys like it, too. He could still remember what Yosaku told him back in high school when he first met her, but he never really believed she was a crazy stalker.

Pushing that aside, he rinsed his mouth and stripped. Turning on the hot water, he stepped under the spray and for a minute just stood there enjoying the warmth. The last traces of smoke, sweat and Ishillys perfume were fading from his skin by the time he took the soap and washed everything off; the sweat, perfume as well as the worries he had. Concluding that he thinks too much, he focused on the water and drove every other thought from his mind. It seemed like an hour, but only 15 minutes passed by the time he stepped into the foggy bathroom. Wiping the water from his skin and enjoying the softness of the big towel, he let his mind slip again. This time to the moment he first saw Law and Kidd kissing. The two of them were far from what one might call a "match made in heaven", but if they managed to stay together for six months and keep it a secret from their closest friends, they obviously worked well together. As far as Zoro was concerned, if they were happy together, he was happy for them. Which brought him to the look Ish gave them. He tried not to think about how strange she acted sometimes, but these were his friends. With a sigh, he decided to take a break from thinking about anything along those lines for the rest of the day and put clean clothes on. He left the steam filled bathroom and strolled to the kitchen. As expected, breakfast was on the table, but no ojii-san in sight. The old man probably decided he didn't need a day off and went to the dojo to clean or something like that.

Breakfast was delicious, considering he never cooked and probably the only time he ate properly was in that kitchen. Something about that kitchen made him wish he knew how to cook, yet he never tried to learn. _Maybe this year._ he thought with a smile; Zoro knew himself well enough to know he probably won't try to learn this year either.

There was still time to wash the dishes before he put his shoes and coat on. With the keys in one hand, he walked to the garage and into the car the old man never seemed to use.

The drive to the airport wasn't long, even Zoro wondered how that happened, but looking for the right gate took a bit longer. Cursing at himself for not asking ojii-san about it, he went to the information desk and asked. He'd never usually ask for directions, but knowing Tashigi, it wasn't good to be late. If she was still as clumsy as she was two years ago, she might die if he were even five minutes late.

Without further ado, he found the right gate and all that was left was waiting. The amount of people around him was high; unusually so. He was consumed with observing the people around him that he didn't notice how fast the time seemed to fly by. His attention was caught by a high-pitched scream of his name. Zoro turned and was almost knocked over by a woman with dark hair. Tashigi let her hair grow out since the last time he saw her, it seemed, but the pink glasses stayed the same. He couldn't help but wonder if Kuina would let her hair get this long. She hugged him and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Hi." he said lamely, trying to keep his cousin from falling.

"Hi too you too." she beamed at him. "You came alone?" she asked after pulling away from him.

"Yeah, the old man should really use the opportunity to rest before you get there." Zoro teased and chuckled at the pretend hurt face she pulled. "How are aunt and uncle?" he asked and took the heavy bags from her hands. There was a lot of stuff in there and it made him realize he didn't know how long she'll stay.

"They're fine. Dad's his creepy old self, bitching about the untalented apes he has to call his students." she rolled her eyes and continued. "So mom does most of the classes as usual."

"The new students are that bad?" he asked, not believing that could ever happen.

"Of course not, you know how he only trains one person every few years by himself." she spoke "You were the last one and now he's back to bitching until someone else comes along."

He had to laugh at that; it was true his uncle was difficult and it was both an honour and a nightmare to have him as a sensei.

* * *

The walk to the car and the drive home was long, but it gave them enough time to catch up. After going through almost every topic they could think of, the two sat in the car in silence.

"Oh, you remember Ishilly?" he asked, remembering how she and Tash used to hang out sometimes.

"Ishilly? Of course I do." she said and her face turned to an expression of horror. "Oh my god, I forgot to tell you. She kept coming by the dojo after you left and wanted to hang out, asking me where you went and why." Zoro didn't see what was so unusual about that and why Tashigi looked like she'd seen a ghost. "About half a year after that, she just disappeared. No one knows where she is." she finished and looked at him, regretting not telling him when it happened.

"What?" he was confused. "She's here. We started dating again, just days ago."

The horror on Tashigis face increased at the news.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

In the privacy of his own mind, Zoro had to ask himself the same question, but the answer was not one he liked very much.

_I'm not sure._


	7. Falling from grace

**Don't own One piece. The song is "I have to look up just to see hell" by Marilyn Manson. **

**Falling from grace**

It was barely a week after New Years and Sanji was already working himself almost to death. The beginning of next semester was approaching fast, so he had to earn some bonus points with the old man to let him continue working when class starts.

His mind was far from the soup he was making for lunch; this was his last day working the morning shift for a while so the afternoon with Conis should be wisely spent and rushing into something without a plan was never Sanjis thing. Going through a list of movies they might watch and dishes he might make, he didn't notice a peg-legged geezer looming over him. The other cooks hushed and seemingly concentrated fully on their own tasks, pretending that they're not in fact observing the oblivious sous-chef and the threatening figure of the head chef. Still oblivious, Sanji continued to stir his soup with a dazed look on his face, while the old mans eyes narrowed to thin slits, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Eggplant." his voice was low and threatening, making everyones blood run cold. The cooks tried to move away from the epicentre without actually abandoning their work lest they invoke the old mans wrath upon themselves.

Sanji snapped out of his thoughts about the lady waiting for him at home and turned to Zeff, slightly confused, but not the least bit fazed by the murderous glare. He lived with the old guy almost all his life, after all.

"What is it, geezer?" he asked, annoyed that his planning was cut short.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Zeffs voice was still just above a whisper, but it was still the most intimidating sound any of the cooks ever heard.

"It's called soup, old man, are you senile?" he stated blatantly with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Get your head out of your ass and focus on the soup before you mess it up, eggplant!" Zeff huffed in his typical manner and turned away from Sanji before he had a chance to reply to his face.

"I could do this in my sleep, shitty geezer!" Sanji yelled his usual reply and it signalled everyone else that the danger has passed. The two of them would never admit it out loud, but they missed each other over the two years Sanji was away. Turning back to the soup, Sanji smiled and resumed his thoughts about the upcoming afternoon.

From the corner of his eye, Zeff could see the eggplant was daydreaming again. He huffed and went to work; he knew better than to doubt Sanjis skill, though he may not say so out loud. Meanwhile, Sanji made solid plans in his head and memorized lists of what he has to buy. The soup was done anyway and he's free to go after cleaning up. He really couldn't remember the last time he wanted to leave the restaurant so fast, but it looked like it would be a good day and he wanted to enjoy it. Trying his best not to half-ass the cleaning, he hurried upstairs to change out of his chef whites and, after waving to any of the cooks interested, left through the back door. It was a bright day, fairly sunny for early January, but it made him smile nonetheless. After weeks of gloomy weather, the sun was heaven sent and Sanji felt as if all his recent worries just melted away.

His mood was through the roof and he almost ran to the store just so he could be home as soon as possible. The sun made it easy to believe it would be a good day. Breezing through the aisles, grabbing everything he needed and dumping it in his cart, he made his way to the cute brunette cashier; usually he might have thought she was cute, maybe flirt with her a bit (innocently, of course), but it was too good a day to spend in a store.

His arms laden with plastic bags he went out into the cold street, smile still in place. He barely registered the cold as he walked home. It was a mystery why his mood was so good, but he didn't dwell on it for the time being.

Sanji couldn't contain his enthusiasm anymore as his building came in sight, the smile on his face almost shining brighter than the sun itself. His hand shaking from the poorly bottled excitement, he somehow found the keys in his coat and opened the door of the building, then proceeded to run up the stairs to the apartment. Knowing that Conis is just beyond that door, he smiled once again and gripped the keys harder to stop his hand from shaking. The door opened right away and he entered the apartment, kicking his shoes off in the hall.

"Honey, I'm home!" he yelled with a smile, feeling sappy enough to use such a cliché without feeling like a complete idiot. Making a quick stop in the kitchen to drop off the bags and hang his coat on the back of a barstool, Sanji strolled into the living room with a feeling he'd find his lady there.

As suspected, Conis was in the living room. His smile disappeared when he laid eyes on her. She was wearing her coat, leaning on the back of the couch with her hands covering her face. The small pale hands he knew so well by now were shaking, but he couldn't see her face. Dread coiled in his gut when he noticed the suit cases a few feet from her.

"Sanji..." her voice was muffled by her hands, but he could hear it tremble. "I'm sorry."

He was at a loss for words; it was obvious how this conversation will end, but the reason why didn't come to mind.

"I'm leaving..." she said, after a short silence and let her hands fall to her sides. He could see tears on her cheeks, her eyes red and swollen. "...and I'm not coming back."

"Why?" was the only thing he could utter, frozen to the spot. His mind was racing and understanding was eluding him. They were doing so great, their second anniversary was coming up. It just didn't make sense.

"They called me a few days ago." she started. "My dad's in the hospital and I have to go back."

"A few days ago?" the hurt was dripping from his voice.

"I'm sorry. I really am." She pushed herself off the couch. "My plane leaves in two hours."

"Let me drive you."

"No." her voice was firm and completely unlike her. "The cab should be here any minute."

"Conis..." his voice wavered, legs finally able to move and he stepped towards her. "Why won't you come back?" he asked.

"I can't. Coming here was a mistake in the first place." she replied and looked at him. He could see she was sorry and he loved her for it.

"I can go with you." he said, feeling desperate already.

"No." The reply came quick. "Your life is here."

Whatever his reply might have been, it was interrupted by a car horn from outside.

"That's my cab. I have to go." she said with her head bowed. There was no eye contact between them. He moved towards her and lifted his hand to her cheek, stroking it gently. She was holding back tears, he could see. A sigh escaped him.

"I understand."

It was all it took for her to hug him. They both knew this was the last time they would see each other.

"What about your stuff?" he asked when she pulled away.

"I had them shipped out this morning. All that's left are these bags I'm taking with me."

He nodded and grabbed the bags, making his way to the hall to put some shoes on. She might be leaving him, but he's still a gentleman and making a lady carry her heavy bags wasn't his thing. He carried the bags downstairs and she followed behind him, letting out an occasional sniffle. The cab was parked right in front of the entrance to the building. The cabby popped the trunk and Sanji placed the bags in it, aware of the fact he's just letting Conis go. She could have been the love of his life, if only he had more time to find out.

The bags put neatly in the trunk, Sanji turned and found Conis standing there, looking at him.

"I'm sorry." she said again and he wiped a stray tear from her cheek. It was painfully obvious that this was the end, Sanji took his last chance and pulled her close, kissing her before she could protest. It wasn't the most passionate kiss they shared, but it conveyed the emotions they held for each other for the last time. She pulled away first, giving him a weak smile before saying her last goodbye. He smiled back, knowing that she'd feel bad enough as it is, without him being an ass about all of it. She sat in the car and before she closed the door, he simply said:

"Goodbye."

* * *

_Several hours later_

"No, Ace, I'm at work." Zoro said, nervously glancing around.

"What do you mean?" Aces muffled voice asked.

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" Zoro was slightly annoyed with his friend. "It's 10 pm on a friday, Franky got me a shift at the club."

"Too bad." Ace seemed unfazed by his friends mood. "You behind the bar or at the door?

"Door." Zoro sighed. "Kidd's a fulltime bartender now so I'm just a bouncer."

Ace hummed in reply, but said nothing.

"I gotta go before someone sees me. Bye." Zoro said.

"Okay, bye." Ace replied and hung up.

With a sigh, Zoro put away his phone and resumed his tough guy stance. Being a bouncer didn't really require much more than that, but he liked the job; it paid well and all he had to do was stand around, scowl at people, maybe break up a fight sometimes. Nothing that bothersome. While talking to Ace, he failed to mention that he wasn't alone at the door so he had nothing to do. The Galley-La was a popular club, the line in front was already extending around the corner and it was mostly girls in heels way to high accompanied by the occasional douche.

Lucky for him, he had a shift with Paulie and he was a people person; that way, Zoro only had to show up and stand there. With enough time on his hands to observe people, he was glancing over the crowd, wishing he was stationed at the back door. No one ever came there, save for the occasional couple looking for as much privacy a back alley can give.

His eyes stopped at a blonde head moving next to the line, coming straight at them. Sure, it could have been anyones blonde head, but as luck would have it, it had to be THE blonde. Sanji was walking towards them and Zoro found himself staring; the blonde wore the tightest black jeans possible with a tight light blue shirt that accentuated his collar bones and a coat just short enough to see his ass. Judging by all the looks he was getting from most of the girls and some guys in the line, his ass looked great. The blonde was close enough to see him and Zoro had to stop his ogling long enough to notice there was something off with Sanji. He couldn't put a finger on it, but something was definitely wrong. Other than the fact he was checking the cook out.

The blonde reached them and Zoro was almost certain he'd be ignored.

"Yo, Paulie, Mosshead." Sanji said with his usual smooth voice, like there wasn't a lit cigarette in his mouth.

"Hey, Sanji." Paulie replied with a grin plastered to his face. "How you've been, haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm okay, busy as ever." he said while stubbing out the remains of the cigarette and Paulie moved out of the way to let the other blonde in. "See you later, guys." With that, he walked through the door and out of sight.

_Well, that was weird. _Redirecting his line of thought back to the fact that he fucking checked the blonde out and actually thought he looked hot, Zoro closed his eyes and tried to decide if thinking about the cook as hot was a bad thing.

* * *

Trying to keep himself from losing his mind, Sanji spent the rest of his afternoon with a bottle of wine. It was some expensive stuff he bought in France a while ago and saving for a special occasion. Figuring it didn't get more special than being dumped by a possible love of his life, he opened it to drown himself in alcohol rather than his misery. Being a compete amateur when it came to holding down his liquor, he found himself believing it was a good idea to go out and flirt with someone until he gets laid or dies. Hoping it wouldn't be the latter, he stumbled through the apartment with the last remains of his wine. It was really good wine. Deciding on the bathroom as his first stop, he filled the tub and stripped. The latter took some effort, but he managed nonetheless. Not caring about the state of his clothes for the first time, he just dumped everything on the floor and stepped into the bathtub. Considering himself lucky, he didn't stumble and fall, just sat down ungracefully resembling Bambi on ice. Totally on purpose.

He didn't bathe for long, the wine induced buzz was leaving him and he had no more booze to keep it going. Feeling steadier than before, he got up, one hand on the edge of the tub and stepped on the pile of clothes he left on the floor. He was ready for his next stop; the bedroom. He had enough sense to wipe himself dry in the bathroom and walked naked to the bedroom. He willed himself not to think about how much he missed Conis and how the whole place reminded him of her. It took all his willpower and a short break on the bed, staring at the ceiling to accomplish that, but he managed somehow. One look at the closet was enough for him to know what to wear; the lucky jeans he didn't need since he met Conis and the blue shirt he always wore with the jeans. It was his luckiest combination and it always worked.

The getting dressed part of his plan took a bit longer than was necessary and by the time he was done, it was past 9 pm. It surprised him, but he had to admit the time can pass quickly even when he was unhappy. He didn't even register how unhappy he really was yet, but that might be the wine. It'll happen eventually and soon. Before leaving the bedroom, he dug out the coat he didn't wear in 2 years since the winters in Sweden turned out to be too harsh for the thing, but he could use it for his adventure. Why not use all his lucky clothes?

Being smart enough not to drive, he took a cab to the Galley-La and ended up surprised at the line in front of the entrance. Sure, every employee of the club used to know him, but he might not get in if there was someone new at the door. Noticing Paulie standing there was a good thing, but seeing Zoro turned his train of thought into dangerous waters of what-ifs including getting shitfaced and taking the mosshead home. Again. Wanting to get on with his plan, he kept the conversation with the two short; blessing every deity out there that Zoro didn't say anything the whole time, because if he had, Sanji knew he'd say something wrong or awkward.

Upon entering the club, he was swarmed with people, thought it definitely wasn't the biggest crowd he'd seen there. Easy looking girls were a majority, but getting a drink was the first thing on his mind. The bar was surprisingly empty; other than the fact it was only 10 and there wasn't that many people, most of the patrons went there to dance. The bar was usually reserved for guys not hitting on every girl that walked past.

He sat in the corner and ordered a drink from a familiar redhead bartender, then scanned the crowd. His eyes immediately set on a blonde around his age; she didn't look like the other girls with her blue bandana tied around her head and jeans instead of a skirt too short. The girl turned her head towards the bar and looked straight into his eyes, making him smile. She smiled back, bringing Sanji to the conclusion that his quest won't be a quest at all.

He downed his drink; not for courage, he had enough when it came to women and ordered another. Sanji knew better than anyone that he can't hold down his liquor, but he deemed this as a situation where he needed to be intoxicated. The second drink was gone as fast as the first one and while ordering a third, he noticed his target moving closer.

She swayed her hips in a mesmerizing way. Either that or Sanjis head wasn't as clear as he'd hoped. She was at the bar in a flash, sitting down on a barstool next to Sanji.

"Hi." she said with a smile. "My name's Lily."

Lily just saved him the trouble of going to her through the people on the dance floor. He took her hand and pressed a kiss on the back of it, his eyes never leaving hers.

"It's a pleasure. I'm Sanji."

* * *

As a bartender, Kidd got a front row seat to many different occurrences in the Galley-La club; tonight it was watching the blonde guy he met at the New years party hitting on a girl that wasn't his girlfriend. Kidd couldn't care less for that, he didn't know either of them.

Over the span of two hours, he watched the two blondes at the bar drink their weight in alcohol. True, they were both slim and probably not heavy, but Sanji didn't look like he could take even that. What started out as innocent flirting turned into her sitting in his lap. Both drunk and occasionally kissing, they didn't seem to notice some guys staring at them with murder in their eyes, but Kidd noticed. So the girl wasn't single. But that wasn't Kidds problem either.

The two didn't stop their activities, though. Surprisingly, the observers didn't come any closer either. Now, Kidd has seen this play out a million times; some unlucky prick hits on a girl while her boyfriend isn't there, the boyfriend appears and beats the shit out of the poor prick. These just stayed away and waited. For what, Kidd couldn't tell. It was like that for maybe half an hour, which was surprising in itself, but even he was dumbstruck when Sanji got up and walked away without a word. The girl, equally dumbstruck as Kidd, stayed on her stool and watched the other leave.

* * *

It was around midnight already and Zoro was bored out of his mind. Lulu came to work an hour ago so Paulie sent Zoro to the back door. This might have been what he wanted at the beginning of the evening, but now he was just bored. No one came close to the back door all night, so his job was a bit redundant, but he got paid and Kidd sent him a bottle of booze. Just in case.

Just as he ranted to himself how no one except their gang used that door and he wasn't needed there, said door opened with such force, they hit the wall. The noise was louder than the crappy music coming from the inside. Much to Zoros surprise, Sanji stood in the doorway. He was slightly swaying, his eyes unfocused. _He's drunk. _He may have been drunk, but Zoro had to admit he held himself good enough so it wasn't obvious how much he drank.

"Marimo..." the blonde spoke, looking straight at Zoro. "Didn't expect to see you here." His words were slurred, but still understandable. What he didn't understand was the new nickname.

"Marimo?" Zoro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yesh, Marimo." Sanji stepped into the alley and came closer. "It's moss. Like you."

"I know what a marimo is, dumbass." he replied, feeling more annoyed by the second. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Sanjis face took on a sad expression and Zoro felt bad for a moment. "Conis left me."

That made him feel worse to the point he didn't register Sanji stepping even closer, right into his personal space.

"Should've stayed here and taken you home again, Marimo." he slurred and before Zoro could overcome his loss of words, a pair of lips was pressed against his own. The marimo wasn't thinking straight, he noticed his hands move to the blondes sides, his feet moving on their own and his body was soon pressing Sanjis lithe one against the wall of the club. This was how they got themselves in trouble the first time around; Sanji obviously thought he should start dating men when he was drunk because women treated him like a servant or just left him.

Pulling himself together, Zoro broke the sloppy drunken mess that was their kiss and stepped back. His face painted with confusion and a heavy blush, he could do nothing more than to stare at the blonde in front of him. They were at a stalemate, both silent and staring at each other. It was certainly an unexpected turn of events that made them both think of their possibilities. Zoro was well aware that Sanji was drunk beyond reason at the moment and this issue should be addressed when they are both sober.

"I don't remember the last time." Sanjis voice was barely above a whisper, but Zoro heard him. With that, he pushed himself of the wall and walked down the alley, leaving a stunned marimo behind.

Zoro sighed and opened the door; now was a time for a drink. He hurried towards the bar, nearly running into two pissed off guys going in the opposite direction. Without paying them any attention, he continued to the bar. Kidd saw him and smiled, knowing exactly what the other wanted. Zoro was planning on taking the drink and going back outside before someone sees him, but Kidd had other plans.

"That blonde guy was here." Kidd said. Zoro just nodded, showing him that he already knew. "Without his girl." Zoro nodded again. "Hitting on some blonde." Zoro raised an eyebrow. "With her boyfriend watching from across the club." Zoro had a bad feeling. "He and another tough guy just went to the back door looking pissed." Said with a roll of his eyes and a maniacal laugh. Obviously, he didn't think those two were tough.

"Shit." Zoro spat and, leaving his drink behind, ran to the back door. Damn curly brow will get his ass kicked if he doesn't find them.

The alley behind the club was empty and turned silent when the door closed behind him. They could be anywhere.

"Fuck off, asshole!" Zoro heard a shout from the shadows down the alley. He ran towards them and as his eyes got accustomed to the dark, he saw four figures. Immediately noticing which one was Sanji, he crashed into the closest one and punched him in the face. The guy fell like a sack of potatoes and cause the other two to stop whatever they were doing or trying to do to Sanji. Sanji barely stood straight, his nose possibly bleeding, but he was still drunk and unable to maintain his balance.

The first thug lay on the ground, holding his head and whining like a little girl. Zoro stepped over him and made to punch the second one, while the one furthest from him turned his attention back to Sanji.

Zoro struggled with thug number 2; he was strong and played dirty, giving him trouble. He managed to punch the blonde haired guy and he stumbled, but didn't fall. Thug number 1 was getting up too, his nose still bleeding. From the corner of his eye, Zoro saw Sanji on the ground with thug number 3 kicking him in the ribs. His attention went back to the first guy he hit; he was already hurt and should go down for good this time. Of course, Zoro was right, taking him down with a punch to the nose and another one to his gut. With no time to breath, the second one came straight at him.

Struggling with the blonde guy again (_why the fuck is everyone blonde lately?!_), Zoro didn't notice that the third guys attention shifted from Sanji.

Zoro was a strong swordsman, but even he had his faults; he was weak to head injuries. A hit to the back of his head made him stumble while the assailants yelled in triumph, but he didn't fall. The one with the bottle was still behind him and the only warning he got was the sound of glass shattering. Fearing for the coughing blonde on the ground, Zoro turned as swiftly as he could and gapped in surprise as the sharp shard of glass cut through the shirt and skin of his chest. The blue haired guy had a look of victory on his face as he dragged the weapon from Zoros hipbone, across his chest and to his collarbone.

Zoros eyes were wide open, but not seeing anything clearly. The coughing sound stopped, more glass shattered and he fell. Hurried steps informed him that the thugs ran away, leaving them both behind. The urge to lift a hand and touch the aching chest was strong, but he refrained from doing so when a pale face came into his line of vision.

"Zoro?" Sanjis voice was panicked, he was obviously scared.

Judging from the faint feeling of nausea coming over him, he must have been bleeding profusely. No wonder the blonde was in a state of panic.

"Zoro, shit, don't close your eyes." Still panicked, but Zoro noted the slurring was gone. "Stay with me!" Knowing it wasn't the time for thoughts like these, but Zoro couldn't help himself; those words could have been taken in so many ways. His consciousness was fading, thoughts of death invading his mind and realization hit him. This would be the last face he'd see. The last person he expected to be with him in a situation like this and he was too weak to protect him. One hit to the head and he's no longer capable to do what should have been easy. His eyes were closing, the face above him fading and the only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat.

"Damn it, marimo, don't die!"

A warm drop fell on his face and he told himself it couldn't have been a tear.

* * *

**This was hard to write. Next chapter might be a day or two late because I'm going on vacation. Please review so I know what I did wrong. Thanks! :D**


	8. I've been searching

**I've been searching for the peace in my mind**

Sanji's vision was blurry, his head heavy and thoughts incoherent. He knew he was sitting, back against a cold wall while his hands lay on the rough dirt-covered surface of the floor beneath him. He could feel liquid trailing from his nose, blood no doubt. _The alley. _Traces of pain were present on his body, but his intoxicated mind still failed to register it entirely. Pushing past the alcohol fog were images that led to his current situation, distracting him from the fight still going on near him. He grimaced at the image of the girl from earlier, remembering his escape and finally the mosshead. _Motherfucker! _He kissed the damn mosshead. Eyes widened and he started to cough violently, bringing his consciousness to the present; there was a thud and shattering of glass. He steadied his breathing, trying to focus on what was going on. A body falling to the dirty alley ground. More glass shattering and hurried footsteps losing in volume as they faded in the distance.

Fear was creeping into his mind, lifting the weight all the booze left and replacing it completely. He has yet to look at the marimo. Using one hand to steady himself and the other to clutch at his aching ribs, he rose to his feet. It was a painful feat, but he knew it was a necessary one. Finally he turned in the direction of the ragged breathing. Zoro was on the ground, eyes wide open. He was conscious, but the bleeding was something Sanji never thought a human could survive. He moved faster than his body could take at that moment, but he had to. Dropping to his knees and suppressing a hiss of pain, he looked into the marimo's eyes.

"Zoro?" He hated how weak and panicked his voice sounded, like it wasn't his own. The lack of response did nothing to soothe his panic, but his dark eyes were looking back at him. He never had a chance to notice how dark and mesmerizing they were.

Mentally scolding himself for thoughts that were nowhere near appropriate for the moment, he shook his head for a few seconds before he returned his gaze to the other's face. Only the eyes weren't looking at him anymore; they've become unfocused, looking through him as they start to flutter to a close.

"Zoro, shit, don't close your eyes." Never before has his voice sounded as panicked, but then again never before did someone end up at Death's door because of him. "Stay with me!" His usually strong voice was now breaking, he could feel a tightening in his throat that signalled that tears would make an appearance soon. He was oblivious to a slight twitch of the marimo's lips, but noticed that his eyes closed and stayed that way, to Sanji's horror.

"Damn it, marimo, don't die!" Sanji yelled as the tears started to flow down his cheeks, his chin and finally leaving his face to drip on the marimo's face, yet he didn't notice. The tears were clouding his vision, but his common sense kicked in. His hands, usually so deft and confident, now felt useless as they fumbled around numerous pockets to locate his phone. Sanji cursed as he couldn't find it, so he turned to Zoro's pockets instead. He must have a phone, god dammit! _Yes, yes, yes! _He found it! The screen showed an unread message from Ace, but Sanji couldn't care less. He managed to dial 911 fast and all he needed to do now was to wait. It was the waiting that got to him and he was overjoyed when a voice appeared on the other end of the line.

"_Nine-one-one, emergencies, how may I help you?" _the voice said as he struggled to keep his voice steady.

"I need an ambulance, fast! We're at the Galley-La, in an alley behind the club!" he said in one breath, only taking a short pause before he continued. "Please, hurry, he's bleeding out!" The panic never left him, but the operator needed more information. He told her everything she needed to know and she urged him to keep pressure on the deepest parts of the wound until the ambulance came. For whatever reason, he knew this would be the longest wait in his life.

* * *

She stepped out of the car just in time to see an ambulance parked near the club and paramedics putting someone in while a crowd watched. She glanced towards the front door of the club and noticed two bouncers, but neither of them had green hair. Panic was creeping into her brain as she crossed the street towards the paramedic who was being yelled at. Ishilly stopped in her tracks when she noticed the person yelling was none other than that damn blonde with the weird eyebrow. He was covered with blood and Ishilly couldn't help herself hoping he's just bleed out. She was seething, anger and fear gnawing on her gut. He was always too close to _her _Zoro. He was suspicious. The yelling stopped and the blonde followed the paramedic into the back of the ambulance. They were off in a hurry and she continued across the street towards the club. A mop of fiery red hair in the crowd drew her attention.

She walked towards Kidd and his expression turned horrified as he saw her. Ishilly was alarmed and hurried closer.

"Hey. Where's Zoro?" she asked him, barely concealing the dislike she felt for the man.

"Um...that was him in the ambulance." he replied silently. He already notified all of their friends and Zoro's grandfather, but no one had Ishilly's number. Zoro might have been his friend, but that didn't mean he had to like the girl he chose. It just happened that she was his current girlfriend. He watched as her face turned pale and she ran back to her car.

In the span of a few minutes, she was speeding through the city, cursing herself for leaving the spot in front of the club for half an hour and for not asking which hospital they were taking him to. _It's all that damn blonde's fault! He should bleed out instead of her Zoro!_

* * *

Sanji got a chance to find out firsthand what it meant to be lonely in a crowded room. Specifically, a waiting room in the hospital. He hadn't even thought of notifying anyone of what happened, yet everyone was there around him including an old man and a young dark haired woman he didn't know. The absence of another dark haired, freckled woman went unnoticed by him, but certainly not by everyone else.

The paramedics had let him come along when they noticed he was hurt too, but he didn't pay attention to his own wounds. During the whole ride, Zoro was unconscious and Sanji was being pressed down by the weight of guilt and shame. He avoided the marimo whenever they were in a one mile radius, even went so far to change his walking route from home to work just so he wouldn't bump into him again. Yet, when shit had hit the fan, marimo took a hit for him.

Zoro was rushed into surgery the second he was out of the ambulance and Sanji was pried away from his side to get his wounds tended to. By the time he was done and assured nothing was broke, the waiting room was filled with familiar, yet worried faces. That fact alone made the guilt double and crash on his chest, a feeling that only got worse when they started asking questions all at the same time. Sanji was overwhelmed, hurt and desperate. How does one explain to his friends that he's the one responsible for the current situation? Getting his sorry ass drunk beyond belief and hitting on girls without asking if they were single was a mistake he made too often, one he probably will never make again.

He appeared almost catatonic, staring at his friends as they all shouted questions in his direction, until Robin stepped in. Robin, always the one with the cool head, but this time she was unnerved like the rest of them.

"Please." she spoke, loud enough to be heard over all the other voices. Silence was almost immediate and she continued. "Sanji, sit down and tell us what happened." He nodded in a daze and let himself be guided to a chair, unaware that he was still clutching Zoro's jacket he had picked up back in the ambulance.

Robin sat down next to him, others filling up empty chairs as well; Luffy and Ace hadn't bothered with that and simply flopped on the floor in front of the blonde.

When he finally spoke, Sanji's voice was barely above a whisper. "Conis went back to Sweden today..." He sighed before continuing. "...for good."

It wasn't the beginning they were expecting, but no one interrupted. Ace moved closer, though, and placed a warm hand on the blonde's knee, offering his comfort.

"I went to the club..." He trailed off, knowing that they could figure out the reason for that. "Zoro working at the front door when I got there around 10, I think." He paused again, gulping then continuing his story, knowing full well the next part was embarrassing for him. "I was at the bar, may have drunk too much and met a girl. Well, honestly, I drank way too much, but I got up at some point and left through the back door." A blush had crept to his face, one he hadn't taken notice of.

"Zoro was there and we talked for a few minutes before I left down the alley. And then three thugs jumped me in the dark, spouting some nonsense I can't really remember." He could remember, but telling all his friends that he was attacked for hitting on a girl in a relationship **again **wasn't an option. "They got a few good punches on me before Zoro appeared, but I didn't see what was going on. I got up in time to see them running away and Zoro on the ground. I think they cut him with a bottle..." his voice dropped to a whisper. "...across the chest." He motioned with his hand across his chest, from hipbone diagonally to a collar bone. Still whispering, he added "He bled so much." His gaze was fixated on the white tiles of the floor, stubbornly avoiding eye contact with any one of his friends. He knew this had been his fault, getting shitfaced and involving someone else into his own mess.

"Hey, how did you guys know?" he raised his voice, but not his gaze.

"Kidd was bartending at the club, he called me." Ace spoke this time. "He should be here soon, too."

Not a single person there knew what to say. Sanji was obviously not okay and the information they got held a few gaps, but they decided not to press further.

The door opened silently, but Sanji didn't bother checking who the newcomer was. It must have the bartender, though, as several people greeted him.

"Ishilly isn't here yet?"

The question hung heavy in the room, embarrassing all of them; some hadn't even remembered her, but no one even had her number. Before anyone had the time to say anything, the door swung open again, hitting the wall with a loud thud. All eyes were on the open door and an enraged freckled face.

Ishilly stood in the doorway, moving her gaze from one guilty face to the next until it stopped at the guiltiest of them all.

Sanji felt as if she could see into his soul, into his mind and into the memory of him kissing Zoro. Her face was contorted with anger as she hissed "It's all your fault!". She didn't point at him as he had expected, but the glare he received was more than enough.

"You did this to him!" she continued, undisturbed by the confused and unfriendly looks directed at her. She stomped to the stunned blonde and ripped the bloodied jacket from his hands. "Leave him alone!" she said and with another murderous glare, added "Get out!"

Slack jaws were decorating almost every face in the room; the old man and the unknown woman were sitting furthest from Sanji and he couldn't see their faces. Nami was appalled, as was the usually calm Robin next to her. Luffy was silent and serious, next to the equally serious Law and Kaku. Usopp hadn't taken his eyes off of Sanji the entire time, sitting in the chair next to the silent blonde with a teary eyed Kaya. Franky and Brook could have counted themselves lucky that they were given the task to get coffee for everyone and not having to witness the plot thickening.

Ace was about to yell at Ishilly, when he was stopped by a low mention of his name.

"Ace." Sanji spoke. "Take me home. I don't need to be here anymore." He stood without another word and made his way towards the exit. He didn't need her to tell him it was his fault, he had known already. Ace followed in silence, but only after he shot a glare in Ishilly's direction.

The two best friends found themselves in the cold night air soon enough; silence still upon them. Ace was bothered by it, he had known very well that a silent Sanji is a very distraught Sanji. Things were bound to get worse before they get better.

Ace had parked near the entrance and they sat in the car within minutes, but he refused to start the car.

"Sanji, what happened?" he asked in a low voice, aware that the blonde withheld something from his recap of previous events.

"I told you." he simply replied, avoiding eye contact once again.

"Sanji." Ace's voice was stern; he didn't like it, but it was necessary.

Sanji sighed, knowing from the start that resistance was futile. Freckles always had a way of knowing when the blonde wasn't honest.

"I kissed him." Sanji's voice was almost one of a frightened child. "Before those pricks went after me." Ace was surprised, something he had thought he would never be again when it came to Sanji.

"Why?" was all he could ask, shaking off the surprise.

"I obviously think I should date him when I'm drunk!" Sanji was pissed. Not at Ace, but himself, for being a dumbass. Kissing someone else's boyfriend. **Boyfriend**, for fuck sake! What had he been thinking? But he knew, he hadn't been thinking; not when he kissed the marimo, hell not even when he had slept with him! His drunken self was a walking mess of bad luck and worse ideas. _I should really fucking stop drinking._

"And when you're sober?" Ace's soft voice brought Sanji's attention to the conversation. He could see Ace had meant that seriously, remembering the conversation they had not too long ago.

"I don't know. I can't think about that right now." he replied, giving up on hiding anything from Ace. "It's my fault he got hurt, he probably hates me. Hell, his girlfriend hates me." he sighed. "His fucking girlfriend!" He spat out the last word with as much venom as he could muster. "Just take me home."

Ace nodded and started the car. He had been worried about Zoro, but this showed him he should be worried about Sanji as well.

* * *

The surgery was over quicker than anyone expected. Chopper's grandmother had been on call and she was in charge of patching Zoro up. Chopper had been the one that brought news to his concerned friends. As soon as he had entered the waiting room, Ishilly jumped him demanding news. Tashigi managed to pry her away from the frightened doctor-to-be so they could actually hear what was going on.

Usopp was at his side at once, calming him enough to say what he had to.

"He'll be fine." Everyone sighed with relief. "It wasn't a deep wound, but it was long and it bled a lot. He'll have an ugly scar because he was cut with glass and the skin was ragged, but he should be awake soon enough." He smiled, proud of himself. "Oh, a family member can go see him now, if you want." His eyes were on the nice looking old man he knew was Zoro's grandfather.

"I'll go!" Ishilly yelled and was already one her way, despite not knowing where Zoro's room was.

Kidd had been annoyed by her from the start, but this was just pushing everyone's limits.

"Would you shut up already?" he said with clear annoyance in his voice. "You're not his family." he added with a frown. Law, in his usual fashion, chuckled while everyone else was at a loss for words.

"Koshiro-sensei, you should go. He's your grandson." he added, respectfully nodding at the old man.

Koshiro smiled in thanks at the boy he considered his grandson as well. "Thank you, Kidd, but you're also family and no one is closer to him than you are." the room was silent as the old man spoke for the first time that evening. "My granddaughter and I agree that you should go see him now. We'll get him some things and see him after you." He smiled again and stood up. "I have to talk to Doctorine first, anyway." He said his goodbyes with a soft smile and left with Tashigi.

Ishilly was beyond the point of rage; she was seething. _That filthy faggot is his family, but I'm not?! _They were all enemies to her and the need to get Zoro away was bigger than ever. They can't be happy with all these people around them.

Kidd could almost swear he saw steam coming from Ishilly's ears as he kissed the top of Law's head before following Chopper to Zoro's room. The turn of events was in his favour; seeing Zoro before Ishilly does would have it's advantages if the swordsman was awake. Calling her creepy would be an understatement and something had to be done about it. Chopper showed him to a door and went back down the white hall, while Kidd opened the door.

The room was white, sterile, completely impersonal and everything Kidd hated about hospitals. Beeping from a machine filled the room; he entered and quietly closed the door. It pained him to look at his friend in his current state; his eyes were closed, a bruise forming around one of them and his chest heavily bandaged. They had a bad habit of getting into trouble and ending up in the hospital since they met, but it never got easy to look at the closest friend he had in such a pitiful state.

To his surprise, Zoro stirred in the bed and he was encouraged to move closer, taking a seat. He had decided to wait until Zoro was awake since he got a chance to be the first one to see him, despite the lack of blood relation.

He sat in the uncomfortable chair for 45 minutes, waiting. Patience was never one of his strong sides and he was at his wits end. Kidd stood up again and paced in front of the bed, his hands jittery from staying still for that long already. Zoro stirred yet again, for who knows which time already and Kidd didn't even spare a glance in his direction. The beeping sound was grating on his nerves, so even and monotonous. As annoyed as he was, the redhead didn't notice the change in beeping and a strained grunt. A louder grunt made it's way to him and he stopped pacing, eyes immediately glued to the bed. He was walking closer to the bed, back to the chair while his eyes never strayed from the sleeping face in front of him.

Zoro's brows were drawing together, he lost the peaceful look he had only minutes before. His eyelids fluttered a few times before the swordsman opened his eyes. He grunted once again while trying to focus his sight on the disgusting white ceiling above him. He could recognize the hospital by just that one simple white ceiling. Events that preceded his hospitalization were imprinted in his thoughts, the last thing he heard was a shout of "Stay with me!" coming from pale lips above his face. The blonde called an ambulance, no doubt. His vision was focused as it could be after serious amounts of drugs he couldn't even fathom and he dared to glance to his sides.

"The hell happened?" Kidd spoke as soon as Zoro's head shifted in his direction.

Zoro couldn't suppress a chuckle. It was what they did; one got hurt, the other got mad for not being there.

"Assholes with a broken bottle and a damsel in distress." Zoro replied, his throat sore and dry. He could feel the roughness of his lips; drugs at hospitals always made him feel like he walked through the desert in the brightest sun.

Kidd chuckled and thought about a way to breach the subject of a certain freckle-faced bitch.

"Everyone's outside." he said.

"Is Sanji okay?" Zoro asked. Heat was rising to his face at the childish question. He sounded weak and pathetic to himself.

"I think so, Ace took him home right after I got here so I didn't really hear anything from him. Why'd you wanna know?"

"Those guys attacked him. I just helped him." Zoro's reply sounded like he held no interest for the subject, yet Kidd could see through the crappy acting.

"That explains a lot, actually. Ishilly almost had a fit when she saw the ambulance and I had to tell her you were in it."

Zoro looked at him with confusion. "She was at the club?"

"Yeah, I thought she was there to pick you up."

"I walked to work." Zoro said, confusion increasing.

"Well, she got here a bit after I did." his tone revealed amusement. "Had a bitchfit, yelled at blondie that this was his fault and took a jacket from him. I think it was yours. She made him leave."

"She...what?" Zoro was in a world of what-the-actual-fuck. "How did she know he was even there?"

"Dude, I told you she was bad news." Kidd replied with a sigh. "She's creepy."

Zoro couldn't argue with that, Ishilly was always a bit weird, but he was slightly ashamed to admit that he never paid her that much attention. He could remember how they met, how she always seemed to know where he went and with whom, not to mention how she found him in Boston. It never occurred to him that it was creepy.

"You're right." He frowned. Zoro prided himself with good observation skills, but when it came to girls, he rarely paid them a lot of attention. Training was more important.

"I know. She wanted to butt in and see you before Koshiro-sensei and Tash." Kidd added to the list of creepy things she did. He felt like such a gossipy girl. Fuck, Law was rubbing off on him. "Hell, she jumped on Chopper, the poor kid. Scared him shitless."

"So why are you here before Tash and granddad?" Zoro asked with a smirk.

Mirroring the smirk, Kidd replied "Koshiro said I was family too and should see you first."

"Did she do anything weird at that?" the swordsman asked, doubting if he really wanted to know the answer.

"Well, she tried to make me spontaneously combust with the power of her mind, judging from the ugly look she gave me." the redhead didn't laugh very often, but when he did, it was with Zoro in situations like these. "Bet she hates me."

"I should break up with her, shouldn't I?" he asked warily, but the answer was known to him ever since Tashigi told him those other things about Ishilly. He was a dumbass for not seeing it himself. He sighed. "Nevermind that, what did the doctor say?

"You'll have a wicked scar and that's pretty much it, I guess."

"When can I go home?" Zoro was still wary, though. If he didn't break up with Ishilly before he went home, she might invade his place and never leave. His suspicion that she wanted to move in made sense now.

"Didn't say, but Koshiro's talking to the hag that operated you." Kidd's amusement passed for the time being. "I didn't think those guys would have the guts to attack someone."

"Assholes. One of them had blue hair and a white fucking fur coat." Zoro huffed with irritation. "Who the fuck wears a white fur coat to beat someone up?"

Kidd roared with laughter at the possibly dumbest question his friend could have asked at the moment, yet it was an interesting observation. Pulling himself together, he said "The other was blonde with a stupid grin on his face until he saw the girl with your damsel in distress."

They laughed together, tears gathering in their eyes. "There was a third one, though." Zoro said. "Probably waited for Sanji in the alley."

Kidd watched, baffled, as his friend's eyes suddenly opened as wide as they could and his jaw went slack. He didn't know why Zoro's was so shocked all of a sudden. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, never mind."

Kidd didn't buy that excuse, but if Zoro wanted to share, he would. Neither of them liked to share feelings and that crap.

Zoro was very aware that someone had probably seen him and the damn cook kissing; why that bothered him suddenly, he didn't know, but he could tell it would be a long night filled with thoughts of that prissy cook and the unresolved issues they apparently had. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and cursed Ace for giving him stupid ideas like how he might like the blonde or some shit like that.

**Sorry for being a week late and sorry that this chapter might suck. I got from vacation and the everything went to hell, my bunny got sick and died and my dog got hit by a car (she's fine, tho) in the same fucking day so I just couldn't get myself to write. I'll try to make it up by posting the next chapter soon. And I'm sad to say this story is nearing the end. I know it's short, but for a first multi chapter it's okay, I guess XD**

**Also, a thank you to Drakona Fuyu for betaing the first part of the chapter, you'll notice that it's better than the rest xD**

**Song is 'All turns black' by Hypocrisy.**


	9. I see my horror

**I see my horror mirrored in the sundown of your blank stare**

Sanji was standing in front of the room the nurse pointed him to, contemplating whether he should go in or not. After all, he got kicked out the night before and if Ishilly was somewhere in the area, he'd probably get run over or something. He had nothing but respect for ladies, but that particular one was odd, to say the least. Despite not wanting to see her or be the victim of her probably well-deserved wrath, Sanji's guilt prevailed and he sighed. Mentally preparing himself for the worst, he sighed and softly knocked on the door. There was no reply, but he opened it anyway and quietly stepped inside.

A fresh wave of guilt washed over him as his eyes fell upon the sleeping marimo and the huge amount of bandages wrapped around his torso. Sanji started fidgeting in his spot by the door, unsure what he should do. He had decided to speak to the marimo and maybe apologize, however hard that may be on his pride, but he had not expected to come when the other was sleeping. Sanji stood in the same spot awkwardly, not knowing how to proceed. He opted for sitting next to the bed and waiting for Zoro to wake up, hoping that Ishilly won't arrive in the meantime.

Ace had returned to the hospital after driving him home the previous night and was kind enough to text him when everyone, including the fuming girl, left the hospital. So he found himself sitting next to the sleeping form of the only man he ever knew intimately, observing how his face looked oddly appealing. Sanji was amazed how some simple statement from Ace could make him see things in a different light, especially in a situation like the one he found himself in. He stayed quiet, many what-ifs coursing through his mind. What if he did like the marimo? What if the marimo like him back? What if he kissed him while sober? What if he didn't have a girlfriend? It all boiled down to that one detail, though; the marimo had a girlfriend. A crazy one at that, though Sanji would never say that out loud.

He sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, mentally cursing Ace for his big mouth and stupidly amazing observation skills. Sanji often debated whether Ace might be psychic or something, knowing that he might maybe kind of like the idiot marimo. Maybe. He groaned at the slightly belated realisation; he liked a guy. Laughter bubbled in his chest as he thought of all the circumstances and the fact that he wasn't throwing a tantrum at such a ridiculous notion. Oh, he should have stopped drinking before creating a mess this big. He supported his elbows on his knees, placing his head into the palm of his hands; he was such a pathetic sight. Not to mention how pathetic he felt ever since he came to in that alley. Knowing that his stupidity had gotten someone hurt and his selfishness is bound to hurt more people in the foreseeable future. Sanji has cursed his pride before, just as he had cursed the inability to not do stupid things while drunk; both of those were his biggest flaws, ones that often got him or someone else in trouble.

Sanji could have laughed at himself for being melodramatic, sitting in a hospital next to the unconscious marimo, waiting for him to wake up like a desperate high school girl. The will to smash his head into a wall repeatedly had been strong, but lucky for him, he was stopped by a loud screech.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Ishilly stood in the doorway, trying to transmit her hatred for him through a single glare. She was succeeding, too.

The turn of events was definitely unfortunate for him; he missed his opportunity to speak to Zoro and he was about to be kicked out. Again. By the same person. It was like a déjà vu, she stood in the doorway looking like an angry cat just as she had the night before and Sanji had to ask himself, how many times was that bound to happen.

He was about to grace her with a snarky remark he would usually never utter to a lady when he was cut off by a growl.

"What's with all the yelling?" Zoro's voice cut through the silence, but his eyes were still closed. A cowardly thought occurred to Sanji; he could still escape and leave the impending awkward conversation for another time.

"What the hell is HE doing here with you?!" she screamed once again, ruining Sanji's chance for escape; which he wasn't really planning on taking anyway. Zoro opened his eyes and frantically looked around, surprised that he hadn't noticed someone else was in the room. His eyes stopped on Sanji, taking in the horror on his face. The two stared at each other, ignoring the seething girl that started approaching them while the two weren't paying attention.

"Zoro!" she yelled again. He broke the eye contact and turned to her, annoyed scowl decorating his face.

Ishilly's face was distorted by rage, her eyes averted to Sanji again. She almost hissed at him and he had to admit that she looked scary. Not to mention, unattractive. She was baring her teeth like a beast and Sanji was baffled; she was completely different than she was when he met her.

"Get out." she hissed at him, voice low and dangerous. Zoro blinked in confusion, this side of his girlfriend's new to him and not all that flattering. From the corner of his eye, Zoro could see Sanji bow his head and get up from his chair.

"No." he said, to Sanji's utter surprise. The blonde froze and glance between Zoro and his girlfriend's angry face. "Ishilly, you should go." he said, his eyes never leaving her. She, on the other hand, wasn't looking at him; her eyes filled with burning rage never left Sanji.

"Don't be silly, I'm your girlfriend." her voice softened, but her eyes stayed the same. "I'm supposed to be here for you because I love you."

Zoro visibly winced at her words, remembering what both Tashigi and Kidd told him.

"And HE is responsible for your wound!" she hissed at Sanji again. "So he should leave you alone!"

Sanji couldn't help but agree with her to some extent, he was at fault and he couldn't deny it.

"Ishilly, leave." Zoro's voice was calm as usual. "Don't bother coming back."

Sanji's eyes widened at that. _He means just today, right? _

"Wh...what?" she mumbled, the anger replaced by hurt. "But you'll be lonely today."

Zoro sighed before continuing. "I meant, don't come back at all. Getting back together was a mistake." His voice revealed only annoyance; with her or with the situation, Sanji didn't know.

"But I love you!" she screamed, startling them both. "And you love me too!" She was hysterical.

"No, I don't." Zoro's voice was steady and revealing no emotions.

Ishilly turned to Sanji and pointed a finger at him, her face contracting with rage once again. "It's all your fault! You did something to him! Those guys should have just killed you!"

"Ishilly!" Zoro's voice boomed and she looked terrified; a look that was mirrored on Sanji's face. "Stop this and leave!"

"But..." she mumbled, tears forming in her eyes.

"No." Zoro cut her off; he wasn't about to break after he saw her go crazy with his own eyes.

She was shaking with rage, tears streaming down her face as she turned back to Sanji; he had hoped they both forgot about him even being there. It was an awkward situation to begin with.

"I know this is your fault." she said. "You will pay for this." With that, she glanced back at Zoro and stormed out. The crash of the door made them both flinch.

Sanji was beyond just confused; obviously, those two have broken up, but he still didn't understand what the hell happened. Never mind that he was present for the whole ugly thing. He shook his head, he really had no business there as it would turn more awkward than it already was.

He made his way towards the door, wanting to give Zoro some space after the scene that transpired only moments ago.

"Where are you going?" Zoro spoke as Sanji took a hold of the doorknob, his voice softer than it had been before.

"Uhm...home?" Sanji said with uncertainty.

"Didn't you need something, cook?"

"What makes you think that?" the blonde had forgotten why he came there in the first place.

"Well, you were sitting here while I was sleeping." the statement made Sanji blush; if you say it like that, it sounds weird. "And unless you enjoy watching me sleep, you probably needed something."

"Oh, shit, yeah." Sanji laughed nervously and returned back to the chair he occupied before the whole melodramatic scene. "I wanted to see if you were alive, marimo."

Zoro laughed at the nickname and the nonchalant statement the other offered.

"And I came to... apologize." Sanji continued, averting his eyes from the other's face. It was embarrassing enough as it was.

With a clearly confused face, Zoro asked "Why?"

Sanji sighed with exasperation, realizing he would have to draw the marimo a picture. "You're here because of me, marimo, and you know it."

"No, I'm here because a douchebag cut me with a broken bottle." Zoro replied matter-of-factly.

The blonde groaned, leave it to the dumbass to make things harder for him. "Just accept the apology, mosshead."

"I didn't hear you apologize, dartbrow."

"Gah... I'm sorry!" Sanji raised his voice, the stupid marimo was getting on his nerves. To think he might like the idiot.

" 's okay." Zoro shrugged. He didn't really think it was the blonde's fault, anyway.

"How can you be so whatever about it? You're in the fucking hospital!" Sanji couldn't understand how the other could be so indifferent to the situation; he was in the hospital with a wound on his chest, he dumped his girlfriend and not to mention the general weirdness that went on between the two of them since Sanji came back.

"It's not a big deal, seriously. Calm down." Zoro continued in his calm voice. "Now mind telling me what the hell you were doing last night?" He sat up in the bed with some effort; he got hurt way too often and was used to hospitals already.

Sanji blushed at the question. He didn't know what the other meant exactly, but nothing from the events of the previous night was a topic that showed him in a particularly good light. From getting drunk AGAIN, to hitting on someone's girlfriend AGAIN and kissing the marimo FUCKING AGAIN.

"I don't know what you mean." Sanji stated, refusing to look the marimo in the eyes. Zoro stayed dumbfounded at the state of the cook's face; he was fucking pouting, with a blush on his cheeks, no less.

"Just talk, curliecue."

Sanji sighed again, he seemed to be doing that a lot. "I was hitting on a girl..."

"You always get beat up when you hit on girls?" Zoro cut him off with a smirk on his face.

"What? No! Dumbass." the blonde blushed further, despite the scowl he produced. Though, he had to admit, it did happen often that guys wanted to beat him up. They never did, of course.

"Okay, then what?" Zoro nudged him.

"Well, then I went out through the back..." He trailed off, knowing very well where that was going and considering the marimo was sober for their 'moment', it was obvious he remembered it as well. _He's just trying to embarrass me._

"Why'd you kiss me?" The question came so sudden and so straightforward, Sanji had to lift his head and stare at Zoro with pure shock; eyes wide and jaw slack. Zoro was looking at him with curiosity, he couldn't see any traces of mocking or disgust.

"I... didn't?" He tried, hoping the other was maybe somehow bluffing and didn't really remember. The incredulous look on Zoro's face, thought, told him otherwise. "Fine, fine. 'Cause I wanted to, I guess."

The curiosity Zoro felt multiplied at that statement. "Okay... And you said you didn't remember the last time?"

Sanji lowered his head again, casting his gaze downwards. "God, this is embarrassing. Do we have to talk about this? Ace has been bothering me enough as it is."

It was Zoro's turn to be shocked and if Sanji had been looking, he might have laughed at the way Zoro's eyes looked like they might pop out any second. "You know about Ace?!"

"Yes, marimo, because you fucking told him!" Sanji raised his voice again. "Ace doesn't keep quiet about secrets, you know."

The blonde did have a point about that.

"Now answer my question. If we don't talk about it, Ace'll never let me live my life in peace." Zoro said expectantly.

Sanji realized, somewhat belatedly, that they were having a normal conversation for once. _Ah, what the hell. _

"I was really drunk, I just remember waking up and kinda bolting out of your place." his voice was quiet; Zoro could see the blonde wasn't completely comfortable talking about the subject, but it was important. Ace got to him too and if there was a possibility of improving the relationship with Sanji, he'd use it.

"Oh, fuck it." Zoro said suddenly and Sanji snapped his head up; why he lifted his head was a mystery since he was expecting a punch in the face. Zoro grabbed the front of the cook's shirt and gripped it tight, Sanji closed his eyes and prepared for the impact. He felt the marimo's hand pull him out of his seat and the other's lips pressed against his own. He was stunned for a moment, eyes opened wide and he was met with a pair of dark irises.

_Oh, fuck it._

Before Zoro had a chance to break the kiss for lack of response and apologize, Sanji lifted his arms and intertwined his fingers on the back of Zoro's neck. His lips finally moved and the blonde responded, causing the marimo to smile into the kiss. This wasn't Zoro's plan for the day, but he had a tendency to adapt quickly. The grip of his hand in Sanji's shirt loosened and Zoro slid it around Sanji's waist, successfully pulling the cook closer. The kiss was passionate, something they didn't really expect from the start.

Sanji couldn't find it in himself to feel awkward or regret the state of things, his mind busy with memorizing every taste, smell and texture of the marimo he could manage. He missed out on remembering their every kiss so far and he had to make up for it; to himself and to the marimo. The last thought was something he never imagined he'd feel comfortable with. His hand lowered down Zoro's back, feeling the smooth skin and hard muscles. The second his fingers brushed against the soft fabric of his bandages, Sanji broke the kiss and pulled back until he was sitting it the chair again.

Zoro was prepared for a nasty rejection; Sanji might have gotten his ass kicked, but he was drunk and Ace did mention something about the blonde being able to smash a table with a kick.

"Marimo, you're hurt!" Sanji screamed at him and Zoro had to take a second to process the words.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"You're hurt, dumbass!" Sanji hissed and glared at him. "You shouldn't be doing things like...this." He blushed by the end of the sentence, realizing what he was saying and what they were doing.

"Screw that! And come here." He reached out, grabbing Sanji's shirt again. The marimo was grinning and Sanji couldn't help but blush again.

"No!" he screeched, sounding awfully like a woman. He cleared his throat. "No. You're hurt. What the hell are we doing anyway?"

"I was kissing you, curly brow, until you went batshit."

"What the fuck, marimo?!"

"You kissed back, dumbass!"

"That's not what I meat, moron! Why the fuck did you kiss me?"

"Because I like you, dipshit! Why'd you kiss back?"

"Because I like you, shithead!"

"I fucking knew it!" Ace's voice sang from the door. Both Zoro and Sanji froze, noticing the incriminating position they were in; foreheads touching, hands tangled. All pairs of eyes wide open, Sanji and Zoro were shocked and started at each other rather than at Ace who was grinning from ear to ear.

Sanji snapped out his daze first, jumping back as far away from Zoro as possible and landed back in his chair. Simultaneously, they both turned towards the door. Ace was beaming, his smile could probably blind people. This was a scene he's been waiting for, the two dumbasses finally doing something good.

"Don't be shy, start talking." He said as he closed the door and strolled towards the bed. Sanji wanted to kick that smug grin off his face.

"I kissed him." Zoro said nonchalantly, causing Sanji to almost choke on his own tongue. He coughed while Ace picked up another chair and blatantly laughed at his friend's misfortune. He set the chair next to the bed, opposite Sanji and sat down. He looked every bit regal as he felt in the moment, with his right ankle perched on his left knee, back leaned onto the chair with his hands crossed in front of his chest.

"Just that?" Ace pouted to the answer he got, yet his own remark gave Sanji another coughing fit.

"What the hell do you mean, just that?!" Sanji screeched yet again; he could feel his throat complaining already. This just wasn't his day, yet depending on how this thing with the marimo ends, might just end up being the best day.

"You guys already had good sex, from what I hear." Just as the words left Ace's mouth, Zoro went deathly pale. He could almost feel Sanji's glare burning holes into the side of his face.

"And who told you?" Sanji spoke through gritted teeth, without sparing a glance in Ace's direction; his glare was focused solely at Zoro and his pale, sweating face.

"Oh, Zoro and I had a talk." Ace was smiling, not noticing the murderous aura that Sanji was emitting; whether he did it on purpose or was simply that oblivious, they didn't know.

"I know things, blondie." Ace continued. "Too bad I didn't find out first hand, but this works too."

Zoro and Sanji turned to Ace, disbelief written on both faces.

"What?" Ace asked, confused idiot that he was. "You guys know I play for both teams." he added with another grin.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask." Zoro interjected. "How come you never bring guys to parties?"

Sanji, thankful for the change of subject, simply nodded. He'd deal with the marimo later.

Ace shrugged and actually thought about the question before answering it, for once. "I don't know. I didn't date a guy in a while." His face turned pensive. "I should probably find someone and settle down a bit, now that you guys found each other."

"We what?" the asked in unison.

"You guys better go on a date when Zoro gets out of here, I don't wanna lose the bet." Ace stated matter-of-factly.

"Okay, I'm out of here." Sanji got up from his chair and put on his coat. "You..." he pointed at Ace "and I will have a little chat later." He shot him a glare before turning to Zoro. "And you!" The glare intensified as he continued. "You'll have some explaining to do."

"But Sanji~." Ace whined. "I just got here."

"Don't care, freckles, I did what I came here to do." Sanji replied and walked to the door, opening it and barely waving before disappearing.

"What did he come to do?" Ace's attention was on Zoro and he was overly excited again. "What's going on? Tell me."

"Nothing." Zoro said, averting his eyes from Ace.

"Come oooooon." freckles was pouting at the lack of information. Just when things were getting good. "You don't tell me anything."

"Dude, I told you everything and now he'll be mad at me." Zoro scowled at his friend and his lack of tact.

"Ooooh, so you care if he's mad?"

The marimo almost facepalmed because of Ace's childish behaviour. "Yes." he simply said, hoping to end the ridiculous conversation.

"You wanna date him, don't you?" The grin never left Ace's freckled face. "Hey, wait, where's Ishilly?"

"We broke up." Zoro kept his answers short, hoping that would discourage Ace. Though, he should have known better.

"Is it wrong that I'm happy that neither of you guys has a girlfriend anymore?"

The swordsman growled and threw a pillow at Ace's grinning face.

* * *

Even though the hospital wasn't nowhere near his apartment, Sanji knew he could use the walk home. _Home. _It felt wrong thinking about that place as home now that it was empty, but he realized that there was no sadness present in his being. He had been sad when Conis left, he had been sad when he had gotten drunk, when he had flirted with that girl, when Zoro had gotten hurt, when Ishilly kicked him out of the hospital; but as he walked home, he couldn't help but forget about the sadness and just feel overwhelmed.

A lot has happened in the course of a single day, his brain just couldn't process all of it. He felt bad for not being sad that Conis left. They had spent almost two happy years together and she was out of his life just as quickly as she'd entered it; barely 24 hours later, he was kissing someone else. A man. Surprisingly, that little detail hadn't bothered him as much as he had thought it would. It certainly helped that Zoro seemed as adamant to do something about their relationship, accurately the lack of one.

He walked down the street, oblivious to the cold nipping at his cheeks and mentally cursing Ace again for planting images in his mind. The thought of a date with the marimo wasn't as disturbing and repulsive as he'd like it to be. Was it even possible to change one's sexual orientation in such a short time? Sanji had to be honest with himself; it hadn't been only 24 hours. He might have been drunk, but he knew he wouldn't have a one night stand with someone if there wasn't any chemistry involved. The fact he refused to believe he'd willingly sleep with another guy was an entirely different matter, but times and circumstances have obviously changed. He had finally lived to see the day when kissing a guy (brute, neanderthal, shithead) sober was an acceptable occurrence. He whined to himself because of the fact that Ace will not let him live it down; the confession he had yelled at Zoro at a completely wrong time. Though, Zoro had said the same thing. Something good may come out of the whole situation.

At least he knew how lucky he was that Ace didn't walk in a while sooner to see them kiss.

* * *

Ishilly stayed in the hall for a while after she left the room. Calming down had been a difficult task, but she managed. After all, Zoro wasn't serious. He was only doped up on painkillers, he didn't know what he was talking about. That must have been it. So like a good girlfriend, she stayed in front of his room and listened to the conversation on the other side of the door. The two bickered and yelled at each other; they were so loud, half the hospital had heard them and what she did was by no means eavesdropping. Even though she had a right to know what Zoro was doing at all times, she was his girlfriend. He belonged to her, not the horrible blonde man that was inside with her Zoro.

She had listened and her mood was turning sour by the second with every single word she heard. Her heart broke completely when she heard that they had kissed, but her hopes were once again renewed with another argument reaching her through the door.

The hospital was surprisingly empty for that time of day and she was grateful for it; the loud sound of footsteps and a familiar voice alerted her to another hated presence. She glared to herself, but decided to hide for the time being. Without further thinking, Ishilly ran down the hall and hid behind a corner until she heard a door open followed by yelling. The voices were known to her, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. The door closed and the voices didn't reach her anymore.

With a sigh, she turned towards the exit and walked down a few halls and flights of stairs until she breathed in the cool air in front of the hospital. There were a lot of things going through her head and she tried to make sense of them, tried to come up with a plan to get rid of the bothersome blonde.

She paced on the sidewalk, lost in her thoughts until she noticed a familiar blonde figure walk out of the hospital. He hadn't seen her. She grinned for the first time that day and decided that following the man she hates might end up useful.

Knowing where he lives can be important if she wants to get him out of Zoro's life.

**Omg, I did it. Sorry that it's crappy and boring. I might have carpal tunnel syndrome from writing too much xD**

**Title is something from a Marilyn Manson song, again. It's "Eat me, Drink me" and it is basically the song I listened to while coming up with the first draft to this story thing. Especially this title :D **


	10. We both matter, don't we?

**We both matter, don't we?**

For the first time in two weeks, Sanji finally had time to stop and just think; about himself, Zoro and their current situation. Classes had started a week earlier and between that and working at the restaurant, he had little time to himself. He had also taken it upon himself to visit Zoro every day and bring him real food. It was his fault that the marimo was in the hospital in the first place so it wasn't a problem to cook for him, it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact he wanted to see the mosshead all the time too. They hadn't kissed or done anything else of the kind since the first day of Zoro's stay in the hospital, certainly not for the lack of trying on Zoro's part, but Sanji went to the hospital every single day nonetheless.

He had already worked through his own conflicting feelings about liking another guy and still only felt slightly weird about it, but the fact they both just got out of relationships was still unnerving (even when one of the girlfriends was bat shit insane). There lay the biggest reason for his hesitation, actually. Over the course of two weeks, Sanji was fairly sure he was slowly losing his mind. Wherever he had turned, he saw Ishilly, but only for a fleeting second before she would disappear again. It bothered him that he obviously felt guilty about kissing Zoro that he kept seeing her everywhere he went. It was unlike him, but then again, kissing another guy hadn't been his thing either until recently.

A sigh left him at the last thought; kissing guys wasn't his thing per se, it was only Zoro. Which was bad enough in itself, the damn mosshead would not let him live it down. Sanji finished combing his hair, not really noticing he was indeed still combing it while lost in thought, before turning back to his room. He sped up as he heard the muffled sound of his ringtone coming from somewhere in there. A short search later, he untangled his phone from the blanket on the bed and answered before the thought of why his phone was on the bed crossed his mind.

"Hello?" he said.

"Yo, blondie." Ace's voice came from the other side. "Whatcha doin'?"

"I was just about to go to the hospital." Sanji replied without bothering to comment on Ace's choice of nickname; he was used to it after all those years of their friendship. "Wanna join me?"

"You bringing food?" Ace asked and Sanji could hear the excited grin in his voice. His love for food always brought a smile to the blond's face.

"Argh, fine. I'll bring you some too." Sanji replied with feigned irritation. "Maybe I won't be losing my mind if you keep me distracted." he added with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Ace took a short pause and asked in a muffled voice; Sanji figured he was stuffing his face with something.

"I've been seeing a freckle-faced raven head everywhere. Never mind that, just meet me at the hospital in 45 minutes." the blonde said with genuine irritation.

"Whatever you say, see ya then, blondie." Ace replied with obvious happiness before Sanji hung up and smiled at his friend's excitement. If there was anything that could take his mind off guilt and Ishilly, it was feeding Zoro and Ace. 45 minutes was enough to pack more food for Ace and walk to the hospital, as he has been doing for two weeks despite the fact he could have just driven.

* * *

It had been snowing for hours, judging from the thick layer of fresh snow on the sidewalk and Sanji hadn't noticed until stepping outside. Despite his numerous layers of clothing and boots he almost never wore, Sanji was still freezing and deeply regretting his decision to walk to the hospital. It was still snowing heavily, the wind blew snowflakes into his eyes and he could feel his face slowly freezing into an expression of irritation; winter definitely wasn't his favourite season.

Other than the ungodly amount of snow and his freezing self, the streets were almost empty. Not that Sanji could see anything other than snow around. He knew it would take him longer than usual to get to his destination which also meant two hungry muscleheads with black holes for stomachs. To his utter annoyance, it took him half an hour just to get over half the way and he had tried to speed up, but the snow piling on the sidewalk was making it more difficult. His face was covered as much as it could have been, only his eyes remained uncovered and squinting to keep the offensive snowflakes out. It wasn't really as helpful as he'd like and he wasn't exactly happy about his slow progress through what was becoming a snow storm, but it was too late to turn back. He pressed on, cursing snow and winter until the hospital came into sight. The snow was still falling, but the ground was cleared around the building and his vision tunnelled to what he had deemed his safe haven; the hospital's front entrance.

He couldn't see if Ace was waiting for him, but he must have been there; whether it was Luffy or Ace, they always showed up if there was food involved. Sanji was closing the distance between his frozen self and the little piece of snow-free heaven waiting for him almost within reach. The space between them was a snow covered wasteland to him and he didn't think to check for traffic before stepping onto the road. The road was slightly slippery and he tried to move as fast as he could, holding onto the bags with food. A muffled shout and screeching of tires reached him, but he took no notice until a heavy body slammed into him and tackled him into the ground. He was pressed into the ground by someone's weight, but he had seen a car speed in the same place he stood moments before. The realization that he barely evaded death hit him with unimaginable force.

"...nji... Sanji... Sanji!" a muffled voice brought him back to reality and he moved his gaze to the man looming above him. A pair of dark eyes underline with freckles was looking at him with clear concern.

"Sanji, are you okay?" Ace was asking him as he shook the confusion off.

"Y...yeah." he stuttered and Ace stood up, reaching down only to pull Sanji to his feet before picking up the food too. Sanji was aware that it was, in fact, dumb to jump onto the road without looking around and he really couldn't remember what he had been thinking. Usually, he had a bit more sense about things such as these. He felt Ace's warm hand on his wrist, pulling him off the road. There were people in front of the hospital, looking at them with mild interest. He remained in a dazed state until he was hit head on with warmth from the hospital lobby; Ace managed to pull him all the way to the inside of the huge building without Sanji even noticing they had moved.

Once inside the warm lobby, Ace hadn't stopped moving; he pressed on, hand wrapped around Sanji's wrist and he pulled him like a rebellious child about to be scolded. Neither of them spoke and Sanji didn't really have a clue where the hell they were going. Nor did he bother to take off his hat or scarf which reminded him that he had no idea how Ace even knew who he was leading around by the hand. They had only stopped once, long enough for Ace to open a door and pull him into a room; Zoro's room, judging by the excited voice that greeted them. The voice turned concerned, though, in a matter of seconds. Ace's face must have been far from amused as Sanji could see for himself soon enough as he was violently pulled forward and then pushed into the chair he already claimed as his own two weeks ago.

Ace didn't look all that mad, honestly, but Sanji knew better than that. The freckled male was easy to aggravate to a degree of obvious anger, but the silent subtle anger was harder to achieve by far and thus it held more weight. Not to mention it happened mostly when his friend's safety was involved. Sanji knew he was royally screwed; Ace turned into a scolding parent when anyone he held dear was reckless. The cook had no doubt in his mind that Zoro got a talk about his injury when Ace got him alone too.

Ace reached towards Sanji and the latter winced a bit, to his own shame since he knew his friend wouldn't harm him. The raven head's expression softened as he removed Sanji's scarf and hat.

"The hell were you doing?" Ace asked and to Sanji's surprise, Zoro sat in his bed completely silent. the blond was still dazed, though, and stared blankly into his friend's eyes as if he didn't understand the question. The silence was overwhelming and Zoro spoke first.

"Ace?"

Ace knew what the other wanted to know and turned to him.

"He almost got hit by a car 'cause he didn't look where he was going."

* * *

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ace could see Zoro tense and decided his part was over. Zoro glared in Sanji's direction and the latter glared back, indicating that he had collected his wits.

Ace took the opportunity to grab a container of food and settle into his own chair to observe the exchange in front of him. Zoro was as happy about what happened as he was and he made it a point to convey his dislike to Sanji who was also obviously disturbed by the fact he almost got his by a car, but didn't want to admit because that would mean Zoro was right. Sanji still didn't want to admit Zoro was right, possible relationship or not.

The argument turned from the issue at hand to other usual reasons for their bickering. Ace tuned them out, turned back to his food and his own thoughts. Sanji might not have seen the car, but Ace had. Not just the car, though, but also the driver. Ishilly had the audacity to look straight into his eyes as she sped up. Whether she was hoping to run over them both while he tried to save Sanji or she just wanted Sanji out of the way, he didn't know, but she was turning out to be a real problem. he hadn't really liked her since they met; Ace was a good judge of character and she always had a weird vibe around her. Obviously for a reason, since she tried to kill Sanji and the fact the blond had been seeing her wherever he turned only meant she was following him. He could imagine she had also followed Zoro too, but since he was stationary in the hospital, she didn't need to for the moment.

Ace spoke to Chopper only a day earlier and found out Zoro would be released in the next few days; he could see how that would only bring problems to both Zoro and Sanji if they were serious about dating. But that was an issue for another time; Ace had known them both for way too long and they would both be stubborn about it, but they could only work it out between themselves. Ace would be happy to help them, but that was more stress than he would ever want to inflict upon himself.

No, he had to work out the problem with Ishilly. He could let her obsession slide, but she did consciously try to kill his best friend. There was not telling what she might do if those two idiots do end up dating. He had hoped they would, but it left him with solving a problem on his own. The first thing that came to mind was talking to Robin; she was an exceptionally perceptive woman and she, no doubt, had her suspicions about the idiots in front of him, not to mention about the crazy stalker girl. Robin would, indeed, be a valuable partner in crime, so to say, that could help him in some way. He froze with his fork half way to his open mouth as he realized how his course of action should start. She was following Sanji which meant she would be somewhere around the hospital; if she was planning on a second attempt on Sanji's life, he would have to work fast and scare her off before the blond left the hospital. Ace was glad it was Saturday meaning Sanji didn't have class and only worked late afternoon until closing at the restaurant. He didn't go around town much so the possibilities for attack were few. He could breathe easier at that.

Deciding on scaring the stalker away that same day, he turned his attention back to his friends. They were still bickering, but he notice Zoro was holding a container full of food that was obviously carefully prepared and Sanji was sitting on the edge of the bed with a hand gently laid next to Zoro's own. They were cute, those two, like an old married couple. Ace saw how they were the perfect match, he just wished they saw it too. Blind idiots.

"So, when's your date?" he voiced the root of his curiosity and promptly made the both shut up and stare at him in horror. "What?" he asked since neither of the two bothered to answer him, they only looked at each other with equal blushes appearing on their faces. Ace couldn't help but smirk in amusement; they were so funny to fluster, especially when they blushed like that.

They still didn't answer, so Ace pressed more.

"You should go to that new restaurant on the waterfront, I hear it's great for first dates."

Sanji was almost melting from the heat in his cheeks, but Zoro wasn't as oblivious to what Ace was trying to do and just went along for the ride. Ace knew Zoro was almost as straightforward as he himself was so it wasn't hard to believe that the date would actually happen. Probably more for Sanji's sake than for Zoro's own, but it was the thought that counted.

"Nah, I had something else in mind." Zoro finally said with a smirk and Sanji's horror stricken face turned back to the marimo. It was a hilarious sight, though it may have been mean to Sanji a bit. Poor bastard.

Given that Ace had more pressing matters at hand, he needed to be on his way and deal with the problem that has presented itself. As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and Chopper's head peeked in, his fluffy mop of hair obscuring his face.

"Hi. Can I come in?" he asked in his quiet professional voice.

"Chopper!" Ace exclaimed with a grin on his face. "Come in!" he loved the little guy, like everyone else. He was too cute to resist.

"I just came by to see how Zoro is doing." he said, closing the door. "And tell you when you can go home."

Zoro looked more than a bit excited; the past two weeks were pure torture to him, being cooped up in a hospital room when there was snow outside.

Ace took this as his opportunity and quickly stood from his chair. "Chopper, buddy, sit down. I have to go anyway." he said hastily, before Chopper could protest. He returned the now empty container to Sanji and quickly grabbed his coat. He said his goodbyes quickly and disappeared through the door before anyone could question his sudden departure.

He buttoned up his coat and walked towards the exit. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to look too hard to find Ishilly.

* * *

Sanji stood from his place on the bed as soon as Chopper sat down in Ace's chair. Zoro wouldn't admit it out loud, but he liked it when Sanji sat down on the bed next to him. Still, the food he still held was more than enough comfort. Sanji, on the other hand, went back to his chair and waited patiently for what Chopper had to say.

Zoro was bored half way to death in that room, but he enjoyed Sanji's visits (and the food). Though, he had to admit that he feared Sanji might stop hanging out with him after he was released from the hospital. After all, he might have been coming over to ease his guilt; he obviously still felt guilty for getting him injured, but Zoro was never that good at reading people's emotions. Least of all the cook's. So figuring out if the cook was there because of guilt or actual attraction wasn't an easy feat.

"Grandma said you can probably leave the hospital on Monday." Chopper said and Zoro smiled, but he glanced over at the cook for a moment. The cook, on the other hand, looked worried for whatever reason. "But she'll come in today or tomorrow to just make sure you're okay." he added.

"Thanks for coming over to tell me." Zoro turned back to Chopper and smiled at him, making the little cutie blush. That was one of his pastimes lately, Chopper was even cuter when he was flustered and blushing. The list of possible entertainment in the hospital was far from endless.

"You want some food? I think there might be some left." Sanji suddenly said, a neutral look on his face.

"No, thanks." Chopper beamed at him. "Grandma's taking me to lunch. So I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow maybe." he hopped out of the chair and pretty much hopped all the way to the door. "Bye." And he was gone as fast as he had appeared.

The only two people left in the room settled into a heavy silence. Talking about their feelings and insecurities was out of the question; neither of them was _that _comfortable and/or used to their current state of affairs. Not like they usually talked about feeling with other people, but still.

Zoro was starting to consider that date seeing as Sanji had a strange look on his face since Chopper mention his release on Monday. If Zoro was being a bit optimistic, he would think Sanji's expression showed clear confusion and slight sadness, but alas he wasn't one for optimism.

"So, about that date..." he finally spoke and startled the cook out of his musings.

"What about it?" he asked sceptically and Zoro almost faltered.

"Well, do you still wanna... you know, go out with me?" he asked and realized it was harder than he had expected, but a weight had been lifted from his shoulder when he saw the smile on Sanji's face.

That had not been the reaction he was expecting and he was dumbstruck for a moment. As he collected his wits, Sanji did the same and replaced the beam with a more subtle smile.

"Uhm... sure." he replied, but Zoro already knew it was no longer just about the guilt with the blonde.

The silence was upon them again, this time less oppressing, but still not completely comfortable. Zoro's mood was better, though, and he's had it with the cook's excuses about him being injured. He removed the scratchy hospital blanket from his legs and swung the over the edge of the bed before Sanji could react. He stretched out his arms and grasped Sanji's wrists, pulling him out of the chair. Sanji was startled at the sudden action, but did nothing to break away from the other's grasp as Zoro pulled him as close as he could. He let go of Sanji's wrists and embraced his waist instead, nuzzling into the crook of Sanji's neck.

Sanji was reluctant at the sudden show of affection.

"Marimo?" he spoke quietly. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not injured anymore." he replied with a grin; one that Sanji couldn't see, but rather felt it against his neck. Zoro felt the vibrations of Sanji's laughter and couldn't help but laugh along. Sanji moved his arms to Zoro's back and the marimo took it as a cue to stop nuzzling at the pale neck. Instead, he kissed the spot he nuzzled with his nose only seconds before then moved to Sanji's beat red cheeks. True, it was uncommon for him to do things like these, but the damn cook said yes to a date. That was cause for celebration in his book. He guessed Sanji felt the same when he tilted his head and kissed Zoro first. If there was ever an unmistakable invitation, that had been it and the marimo knew there was no more backing out of the date. Rather, as embarrassing as it may have been, he could see himself clearly in a real relationship with the cook. He would never say it out loud, though.

* * *

Ace took his time walking through the hospital, deeming it possible for Ishilly to be lurking somewhere inside. He wouldn't put anything past the woman after the stunt she pulled before. Who knew what else she had done before, really.

He walked outside after a fruitless search; he stopped for a moment to glance over the people in the vicinity and then the cars. Most of the cars were covered in snow that still continued to fall heavily, but a few were cleaned and he quickly found the one he was looking for. It's hard to forget a car after it almost kills you and your friend. He was too far to see if she was sitting in there or not, but he made his way towards it anyway, trying hard to remain unnoticed in case she was in there.

He hurried as much as he could through the piles of snow and as soon as he saw the back of her head, he jumped at the door and opened it. She was surprised when he sat in the passenger seat and closed the door. Surprised, but immediately angry. It was obvious she didn't like him very much and he made sure to show her that the feeling was mutual.

"Leave them alone." he simply stated, knowing she needed no explanations.

She snarled at him, resembling a caged animal ready to pounce at it's captor and rip his throat out.

"He's mine!" Her voice was low and dangerous; it would scare a lesser man, but Ace could not be frightened by anything when his friends were in question. He was just as angry as she was.

"I said, leave them alone." he repeated, his voice cool and collected. "You'll regret it if you don't."

She laughed in reply and he couldn't help but wince at the sound; she sounded like a hyena and it only served to disgust him more. Before him was an obviously deranged woman who would stop at nothing to get what she wants; as the worst luck in the world would have it, she wanted Zoro and he couldn't let her stand between the marimo and obvious happiness.

"I'll get rid of that precious blonde of yours and Zoro'll be mine!" she hissed.

Ace's eyes widened at that. She couldn't mean she'd try to kill him again? He said nothing and she took it as an opportunity to continue.

"I know where he lives! He can't run from me!" she was almost yelling at that point, looking more and more like a feral animal. Ace's scowl deepened and her words only fuelled his rage further. He was closing in on the point of no return and knew there would be no easy solution to this problem. Scaring her off was no longer an option since she didn't seem scared at all; he guessed crazy does that to you. He looked at her again and this time she winced at the look on his face; he could only stare her down. It was enough at the moment, but it wouldn't keep her away for good.

"You will leave them alone and you will get THE HELL AWAY FROM HERE!" He raised his voice and she paled; it was unusual for someone to yell at her and for the first time she was frightened.

She was frozen in silence as he opened the door and stepped out into the cold. If nothing else, this would probably infuriate her more, but it had to be done. The situation was spiralling out of control and he would have to resort to more drastic measures.

His feet barely met the ground before he heard the car start and she drove off. Sanji just got another day probably and Ace needed help. Still in the snow, he pulled out his phone and dialled Robin's number. She answered after two short rings, like usual.

"Robin, you had your doubts about Zoro and Sanji being more than friends, right?" he asked after she said hello. His voice was serious and she, being as perceptive as she was, knew there was a serious point to the question.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Her voice was as calm as usual, but the undertones were easy to read for someone who knew her as long as Ace did.

"I need your help with something."

**Well then, two more chapters. Song is "Running up that hill" by Placebo. Hope I didn't disappoint you guys too much :D**


	11. If only tonight we could sleep

**If only tonight we could sleep**

_"Robin, you had your doubts about Zoro and Sanji being more than friends, right?" he asked after she said hello. His voice was serious and she, being as perceptive as she was, knew there was a serious point to the question._

_"Yes. Why do you ask?" Her voice was as calm as usual, but the undertones were easy to read for someone who knew her as long as Ace did._

_"I need your help with something."_

"What do you need?" Robin asked, her voice calm with a note of curiosity. If anything, she was always curious and obtaining new information was something she'd never pass up; Ace asking for help definitely fell into the category of new and different.

"Zoro's getting out of the hospital on Monday." he said. "I need you to invite everyone over on Saturday."

"Alright. Is that all?" she asked, failing to see why Ace would need help with that.

"No." he sighed. Some thought was required as to what he should tell her. "Can you...Are you at home? It's hard to explain over the phone."

"I am." She answered, even though she was confused, something that didn't happen very often. "Franky's not here." she added after a short pause.

"Okay, I'll be there soon. Bye." he said and hung up. He didn't put his phone away, though, instead he dialled another number. This time it rang longer before Luffy answered.

"Hey, Luffy, you at home?" Ace asked, listening to the sound of chewing coming from the phone.

"Yesh I am." Luffy replied cheerfully, still chewing.

"Can you visit Zoro and give Sanji a ride back home later?" Ace asked even though he knew Luffy would do it.

"Sure. You working today?"

"Nah, it's my day off, but I gotta go see Robin." Ace said before adding "Sanji brought some food to the hospital, by the way."

Luffy cried for meat and almost deafened Ace, then promptly hung up probably to dash to the hospital right away.

Ace could only laugh as he walked to his car, thankful that it wasn't snowed in. The cold didn't affect him that much, but he was still glad when the car started heating up; his clothes were soaked from standing in the blizzard. The drive to Robin's place was short and luckily uneventful. It seemed that people weren't too keen on leaving the warmth of their houses thus leaving a practically deserted city. An empty parking spot, however, was more difficult to find and he was forced to walk a block to his destination. The weather was getting worse, if that was even possible.

He rang the doorbell and Robin let him in immediately.

The warmth overwhelmed him and he realized just how cold it really was outside. Robin was smiling at him as he removed his coat and shoes.

"I made tea." she said as she led him to the kitchen, tea and snacks already set on the table. She pointed him to a chair and he sat down, Robin taking the place opposite him. She poured the tea for them both in silence and Ace waited patiently. He was trying to think what to say since he didn't have a definite plan yet.

"So... Is there a reason for me to invite everyone over?" Robin asked as she set down the teapot.

He had expected her to see right through him and she probably has, hell, she could think of a foolproof plan on the spot.

Ace took a deep breath before speaking, hoping Robin would approve of what he was going to do.

"Zoro and Sanji need to have an iron clad alibi for Saturday night."

* * *

Monday couldn't come fast enough for Sanji; he couldn't even fathom how it was for Zoro after being cooped up in that hospital for two weeks then having to wait two more days knowing freedom was within reach. Sanji would lose his mind and it only baffled him how the marimo seemed as sane as he was before. Admittedly, that wasn't very sane to begin with, but whatever.

Sanji was, however, very nervous. After his first class of the day, he realized it was useless to even try paying attention and simply focused on the plan for the day. They had agreed on a date, yes, but there were no details or plans mentioned so Sanji's romantic side kicked in. Does he even need romance? Would Zoro appreciate romance at all? Dating another guy was uncharted waters for him, but he refused to let it dampen his spirit; he would do this right. Yet, he was unsettled and nervous all through his last class, but still thankful that the class in question ended fairly early. The part of his plan that included going home after class, cleaning and cooking was bulletproof. The part that included picking Zoro up and actually surprising him with a date was scary and nerve-wracking.

It was unusual for him to be nervous about one of his dates; planning breathtaking evenings with one lady or another was his thing not too long ago. He might be out of practice after a two year relationship, but he did take Conis out too. Deeming it unwise to think about her, he turned his thoughts on the plan once again. He almost wrote the damn thing down after a while and knew it inside out after sitting through the numerous classes.

Thinking about Zoro's reaction was a big no too, but his thoughts kept drifting in that direction. _What did I get myself into? _Ace would have a fieldtrip if he knew Sanji was almost acting as a schoolgirl going on her first date. In a way, it was his first date; it was bound to be different than his usual dates. Never mind the fact they had intimate history already.

Realizing that he really wanted a romantic date with the dumbass, Sanji brightened up again and almost leapt out of his chair when the professor finished his lecture.

* * *

Zoro sat in Sanji's chair by his hospital bed and waited. He was dressed and ready to go home, if only the damn cook was there on time like he had promised. He was getting hungry, too. The temptation to call anyone else to pick him up was getting stronger by the second until he heard shuffling outside the door. The doorknob turned slowly and the door opened just enough to let a blond head peek in. Zoro scowled in Sanji's direction and Sanji smiled sheepishly at him; obviously, the blond was aware of how late he was.

"Hi?" Sanji spoke, but didn't move from behind the door.

"You're late." Zoro replied and Sanji looked sorry for a moment, finally opening the door and stepping in.

"I know, sorry." he said and Zoro was surprise at the apology. "Can we go?"

Zoro stood up and took his bag from the bed. "Yeah, let's go." He smiled as he could no longer contain his excitement, he was finally leaving the hospital. Sanji visibly relaxed at the sight of Zoro's smile, but his shoulders tensed again once they reached the car. Zoro noticed, but said nothing during the short ride.

"Curly brow, I don't live here." Zoro said as Sanji stopped the car and moved to open the door.

"But I do. Come on." Sanji said, still tense when he stepped out of the car. Zoro had to admit that it was an interesting turn of events, confusing, but nonetheless interesting that the cook actually brought him there. He got out of the car and hurried after Sanji. It wasn't snowing since they left the hospital and the streets were cleared, but the amount of snow was still overwhelming. The cook was visibly cold and shivering, waiting impatiently for Zoro to finally reach the door so they could finally get warm.

Sanji didn't relax, though, as they were going up the stairs and tensed more when he finally stopped in front of what Zoro presumed was his apartment door. Zoro silently observed Sanji take a deep breath before he turned the key and opened the door, moving to the side to let him walk in first. He did just that and walked through a short hall until he reached the living room. He froze and took in the sight before him. The couch was moved away so there was enough room on the carpet around a coffee table. There were two pillows on opposite sides of the table. On the table were a few candles, two glasses and a bottle of sake. Music was playing softly, something he didn't notice at first. Sanji moved next to the dazed marimo and stepped into the kitchen.

"Cook, what is this?" Zoro asked from his spot and Sanji chuckled lightly.

"Our date." he simply said, trying to hide his nervousness as best as he could. He took the food from the warm oven and started placing it on plates, not noticing that Zoro moved behind him.

"I was supposed to take you on a date." he said softly, looking at Sanji's back. The cook must have taken his coat off in the hall and replaced it with an apron. Zoro removed his own coat and draped it over the back of a barstool before approaching the tense cook and wrapped his arms around the other's slim waist. Sanji stiffened more until Zoro spoke again, his chin resting on Sanji's shoulder.

"But this is good too."

Sanji smiled and relaxed; it was surprising how both of them got used to little shows of affection as quickly as they did. As longs as they were alone, that is. Zoro stayed like that and watched how Sanji's hands smoothly placed food on plates and making it look like nothing short of art. He was paying more attention to those skilful hands, but he started noticing the actual food in front of him as well.

"Hey, is that...?" he started.

"Yes, it is." Sanji turned his head to Zoro and grinned broadly. "I talked to your lovely cousin and she told me what you like."

Zoro could feel himself blush; this was already better than any date he could have planned. The cook was very good at it, it seems.

"Don't just stand there, marimo, go take your shoes off and sit down." Sanji said sternly and shooed Zoro away so he could finish with the sushi and onigiri he was decorating. The marimo was distracting him too much.

Zoro obliged and removed his hands from the cook. He took his coat and hung it in the hall next to Sanji's before removing his shoes. Deciding to be nice for once, he went back to the living room and sat down, opting for pouring them both some sake. He had expected some fancy wine, but he wasn't complaining. There were even chopsticks on the table. His dates in the past, no matter how few, were far more uncomfortable than the one with the cook; Sanji went to the trouble of making his favourite food, after all.

He didn't have to wait long for Sanji to walk out of the kitchen with plates and a nervous smile on his face, but Zoro only grinned. After two weeks of living only off of Sanji's cooking, there was no way he could go back to his life of bacon, eggs and takeout. The cook placed a plate on front of him before sitting down with his own food and Zoro could barely stop himself from digging in until the other said so; two weeks of Sanji's cooking came with two weeks of Sanji's nagging about lack of manners and whatnot.

"Well, what are you waiting for, marimo?" Sanji was looking at him and Zoro smiled briefly before trying the delicious looking sushi on his plate. The cook smiled before digging into his own plate of food. They ate in silence; not really uncomfortable, but not completely comfortable either.

"Where did you learn to make this?" Zoro broke the silence. " 's good."

Sanji was flustered at the compliment and simply stared at the marimo before smiling again.

"My uncle went to Japan years ago and taught me." he replied. "Didn't have many opportunities to cook this, though."

"Uncle?"

"Yeah, I've lived with him since my mom died. He taught me everything." Sanji replied without pointing out that he'd never admit that second part to the old man. Zoro hummed in reply, knowing full well how it is growing up without parents, and continued eating.

"What about you?" Sanji asked, smirking at the confused look Zoro gave him.

"What about me?" he asked, still confused.

"This is a date, marimo, we're supposed to get to know each other." Sanji replied with a serious voice, but his face revealed that he wasn't completely serious about it. "You're supposed to tell me your hopes and dreams and what you want to be when you grow up." Sanji was cackling by the end of the sentence and Zoro couldn't help but laugh.

"You have to tell me yours, too, cook." he said between laughs.

The food was gone in a heartbeat and the uncomfortable silence long gone, as well as the bottle of sake. Zoro was amazed at how well they were getting along and how the date thing didn't end up awkward as he thought it might be. Sanji was blushing, probably from all the alcohol he ingested and Zoro decided it was enough for the lightweight cook.

"Don't get drunk on me again, cook."

Zoro nudged him to get up and they moved to the couch.

"I'm not drunk, dumbass." Sanji replied without slurring, which was surprising considering his drinking history.

"I'm sure you're not supposed to insult me if you want a second date." Zoro told him with a chuckle. He had to admit, their arguments and insults were fun and not serious as they might have looked to others.

"Who would want a second date with a mosshead?" Sanji countered with an equal chuckle, sliding his leg under him to turn towards Zoro on the couch. Leaning his elbow on the back of the couch, the cook added "You're lucky you even got one." The chuckling was replaced by a grin and Zoro couldn't help but grin back; what a date it was. He felt comfortable with the cook, which was one big difference from previous dates and there was no need for pretending; after all, they spent two weeks together and most topics for conversation were used.

Zoro moved his hand to rest on Sanji's and the cook blushed as he looked at the way his looked pale and delicate under the marimo's tan huge hand. Zoro took the opportunity to brush his other hand on Sanji's blushing cheek, startling him before the marimo leaned in for a kiss. The cook met him half way with a smile, to his surprise. The kiss was slow and gentle as Zoro didn't want to rush things, which was ridiculous given their past. Their date went great and he figured this was their chance for a good start without rushing into things.

He broke the kiss after a while, but didn't pull back. "Thank you for a great date, curly."

"You're welcome, mosshead." Sanji whispered back, backing away from a fight for the first time.

They pulled away at the same time and Zoro glanced at the window; it was dark outside and he didn't even notice how fast time flew.

"It's dark, I should probably go home." he said to the cook and made to get off the couch, but Sanji grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down.

"It's dark and I think it's snowing. I drank too much to drive and there's no way you're going to walk." Sanji said and Zoro could see him blush violently. "You should stay here." he added quietly and averted his eyes. Zoro could feel his cheeks warming up a bit too at the suggestion. The shy expression soon transformed into a suggestive smirk. Sanji looked up just in time to see it and he pulled away his hand.

"Oi, oi, don't give me that look, pervert." he said quickly. "We said we're taking this slow."

Zoro replaced the smirk with a smile and nodded. He didn't really feel like going home, but he did agree with Sanji on taking things slow; it was unfamiliar territory for them both despite the night they spent together.

"I know, curlicue, calm down." he assured Sanji with a smile. "But I'm not sleeping on the couch so you should just deal with that."

Sanji was about to protest when Zoro added "I'll keep you warm, don't worry" and smirked again. The cook's blush only increased at the statement.

"Just go get your things from the car, marimo." he tried keeping his voice steady, but it wasn't as easy as he would have liked then tossed his keys in Zoro's general direction. Zoro laughed as he caught the keys, thankful that his reflexes were still good otherwise he'd get hit in the face. His laughter resounded through the apartment as he crossed the living room and the small hallway on his way downstairs.

"I'm gonna take a shower." Sanji's voice reached him just before he slipped out of the apartment and with a shout that he had heard the cook, he closed the door behind him. He didn't bother with a coat since he was only going to the car and he didn't mind the snow; he didn't get to enjoy it for two weeks. He stepped out of the building and regretted not wearing a coat. It was indeed snowing and it was really cold. He hurried to the car and retrieved his bag that at least held a change of clothes. Seeing as the day played out, he was certain Sanji had planned everything out so he'd have a clean change of clothes with him. _Sneaky bastard. _He smiled at the realization and could only feel grateful that the planning of their date was done by Sanji.

He hurried back inside and up the stairs, smile still in place. The apartment felt like warm heaven when he finally reached it. The cook was still in the shower so he decided to look around; so far he had only seen the kitchen and living room. Sanji wouldn't like it, but what doesn't know can't hurt him. He walked through a small dining room and past what was obviously the bathroom before reaching the bedroom. Turning on the light, he moved to the big bed and sat down. The apartment was nice, maybe a bit big for one person, but it scream Sanji. He was still sitting on the bed when Sanji walked into the room with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. The cook froze in the doorway when he noticed Zoro on the bed, those dark eyes on him and he blushed. Again.

"I already saw everything you have, cook, remember?" Zoro smirked and stood up. "I'm gonna shower too, I still smell like a hospital."

Sanji moved to the dresser and said "I left a towel for you next to the tub."

"Thanks."

* * *

Zoro left the room and Sanji couldn't help but feel embarrassed; it was true that Zoro saw him naked and Sanji wasn't really all that modest or shy, but the fact he didn't remember their last intimate encounter irked him. He retrieved a pair of boxers from the half empty dresser and a shirt from the closet. Not only did he know he got cold easily at night, he also chose a shirt to maintain a shred of modesty.

Sanji suddenly felt incredibly tired; the day had been long and exhausting and he hadn't slept the night before from the nervousness. Feeling confident that the marimo wouldn't get lost in the small apartment, Sanji turned off the light and slid under the warm covers. The feeling of warmth and softness of the blanket lulled him into sleep before he could even fight it.

His eyes snapped open after what felt like a minute when he felt the bed shift; he didn't really expect the marimo to actually sleep with him, but he couldn't find it in himself to kick him out as the other moved close enough for Sanji to feel the overwhelming warmth emitting from the other's body. He was kind of cold and the room was dark, the marimo probably thought he was asleep. Feeling bold, Sanji rolled over and leaned into the marimo's side to get as close to the warmth as possible. The marimo was shirtless and that disturbed him less than he'd expected. He didn't open his eyes, but he could hear and feel Zoro chuckle for a second before draping his arms around Sanji. The blond drifted back to sleep, content that he finally wasn't cold for once.

* * *

Ace had a fairly boring morning shift before he left the station and drove to the hospital. Zoro was getting out of the hospital and he knew for a fact that Sanji would be the one to pick him up. If there ever was a perfect opportunity to tail Ishilly, it was on that day. She was already following Sanji and with Zoro out and about, she would be easier to find. He parked across the hospital and spotted her car with ease; she was parked in the same spot she had been only two days ago.

He waited patiently until Sanji finally appeared and he could see Ishilly notice him too. It was no wonder, she obviously had more experience at stalking than Ace did. Sanji went inside in a hurry and he hadn't noticed that he now had two stalkers. He came out of the building after only a couple of minutes with Zoro in tow and they left the premises as fast as they could. Ace waited until Ishilly made her move since he was following her, not the other two. To his surprise, they stopped at Sanji's place and both went into the building. Knowing Sanji, there would probably be an interesting story about that so Ace made a mental note to ask the cook what happened.

Ishilly probably wasn't happy about the turn of events. She stayed in her car for hours and so did he; it was night and those two didn't leave the apartment so Ace got an idea of what was going on. Something Ishilly probably thought of too and didn't like one bit which only made matters worse. He didn't expect to see Zoro walk out of the building and grab his bag from Sanji's car; another development the other stalker didn't like as she started her car as soon as Zoro was back inside. She drove off, judging from the speed and recklessness, she was angry to say the least. Ace drove behind her, counting on the fact her rage would probably keep her from noticing things around her.

He drove carefully behind her; it was important that he finds out where she lived. Though, he drove her home after New Years, but didn't think to pay attention as a situation like his current one hadn't crossed his mind at the time.

She stopped in front of a small building pretty close to the fire station he worked in; he immediately knew that could work to his advantage when the time comes. He had come up with part of a plan since he talked to Robin and he was certain she could tell what his ultimate goal was, even though she didn't say anything. Nor did she try to persuade him to stop and that was good. Still, he didn't divulge any information because it would make her an accomplice; if his plan fails and he goes down for it, she would not be dragged down with him. She had a life with Franky and her work while Ace himself had nothing to lose but his friends. And if he let Ishilly do as she pleases, he would lose his friends. Doing whatever it takes to protect his friends, the only family he had, was a reasonable thing to do without thinking of the consequences.

He watched Ishilly leave her car and walk up to the building in front of her. Deciding to wait and watch if he could find out which apartment was her, he parked and sat still. It was the first time in years that he spent so much time sitting in place doing nothing. It was uncharacteristic, but only served to prove how serious he was about the situation at hand.

Two windows on the top floor lit up after a few minutes, but he couldn't be sure if it was indeed Ishilly. Ace was getting tired, his narcolepsy hadn't kicked in in a while and he was aware it was only a matter of time before it did. Leaving the task of finding out which apartment was hers, Ace started the car and drove home as fast as he could before he fell asleep behind the wheel. He was pushing his luck with driving that fast, but things would be worse if he fell asleep and hurt someone; or himself before he managed to do what he had to.

His place was as lonely and cold as ever. The cold didn't bother him as much as the lack of another person. With a promise to himself that he'd try finding someone interesting to date, he went to bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

**Sorry I'm a day late, had an exam yesterday (and I passed!). Next week's chapter (also the last one) will come with an extra of sorts, but it might be a day or two late again because I have another exam on Thursday. Hope you didn't choke on the fluff xD**

**Song is by If only tonight we could sleep by The Cure**


	12. No more nights of blood and fire

**No more nights of blood and fire**

Zoro had five days to think about waking up with the cook in his arms; the blond was a cuddler in his sleep, it would seem, and it was beyond his usual behavior while he was awake. It was somewhat cute, actually, until the cook himself woke up and kicked him out of bed. Robin's call with the invitation to her place that came after the cook introduced his ass with the floor saved him from a kicking the likes of which he had never experienced before.

"So, Robin, why are we all here?" Zoro asked their hostess.

"To celebrate your release from the hospital, of course." she smiled at him as she spoke. "It was all Ace's idea, actually." This made him look around the room in confusion; Sanji was in the kitchen with Chopper and Law, Nami was trying to stop Luffy and Usopp from eating everything while Franky and Kidd laughed at them, Brook and Kaku were in a serious debate about one thing or another with Vivi and Kaya, but no Ace.

"He's not here." he stated flatly, turning back to Robin. She chuckled at that, nodding in understanding. Truthfully, they all arrived in the previous five minutes and Ace's absence wasn't that alarming. As if on cue, the doorbell rang and moments later Robin ushered Ace into the living room. The atmosphere turned livelier in a matter of seconds; freckles had always been the life of every party. Zoro could still remember when he had met Ace, being drawn to him as if he were a fire in a dark cold night.

Chopper ran into the living room as soon as he laid eyes on Ace, jumping on his back like a monkey. Law walked out soon after, leaving Sanji alone and Zoro took his chance to sneak into the kitchen. His first intention was to steal some food, but the cook was guarding it with vigor unfamiliar to Zoro for such a mundane task. Checking if anyone was paying attention to them, Zoro changed his tactics. Stepping next Sanji, the marimo slid an arm around the cook's waist, pulled him close and kissed him. Taking the opportunity while Sanji was confused and flustered, Zoro grabbed a few pieces of shredded chicken and fled the room with a grin on his face. The grin didn't diminish when he noticed Ace watching him with a grin of his own as he made his way across the room.

"So~ how did your date go?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"Dude, you need to find a girlfriend, boyfriend, anything because you're turning desperate." Zoro replied, not so skillfully avoiding the question.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Now tell me about the date." Ace pressed on and Zoro knew there was no avoiding that particular conversation.

"It was okay, we had dinner at his place, had a few drinks, I slept over and now we're taking things slow." Zoro said in one breath and took a few gulps of his beer, hoping Ace would let the "I slept over" part slide.

He didn't.

"You slept over? How is that taking it slow?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I just slept there, nothing happened. Perv." Zoro replied with a chuckle.

"I'm gonna have to ask Sanji about that. If you'll excuse me…" he said in an overly formal tone before walking to the kitchen.

Sanji may have paled at the sight of Ace and his grin, but composed himself quickly. After all, Ace was no longer to be feared.

"Have you been cuddling any muscular men lately, blondie?" Ace asked, knowing full well that Sanji cuddled in his sleep. Sanji, on the other hand, opened his mouth in shock.

"That damned marimo! What the hell did he tell you?" He glared in the direction of the living room as if it could alarm Zoro of his impending doom.

"Just that he stayed over." Ace replied with a smirk. Riling Sanji up was still as fun as ever.

"Wha… How…?" He stuttered, knowing that he probably revealed too much himself.

"You always used to cuddle me or Luffy every time you slept over when we were kids." The memory made Ace laugh; they had plenty of sleepovers as kids and Sanji would often have nightmares so he'd cuddle up to the closest warm body he could reach. Ace and Luffy had first hand experiences with nightmares, choosing to sleep together to fend them off and neither of them felt inclined to make fun of their friend because he unconsciously sought comfort.

Sanji blushed at that; they had never told him it went that far, he assumed it only happened with pretty girls. Embarrassing.

"So, the date went well." It wasn't a question and Ace was grinning again which only made Sanji sigh.

"How did you even know?" Sanji asked, pinching at the bridge of his nose.

"You forget that I know everything, blondie."

* * *

"How was your day?" Robin asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Ace didn't even notice her sit on the couch next to him until she spoke.

"Oh, it was okay." he replied with a smile that could hardly be called anything less than fake.

"Did you finish all your business?" she spoke again, casually as if she was discussing the weather even though she had an idea of what that business had been.

"Yes."

His answer was short, but his tone revealed an undeniable emptiness. She had known from the start what kind of life he led; amongst other things, he was lonely and always afraid he might turn out a bad person like he believed his father was, but mostly he did everything he could for his friends. Undoubtedly, his business had the purpose of helping his closest friends and it was undoubtedly something morally wrong, not to mention probably against the law. Robin was no fool, she could see the change in the way Sanji and Zoro interacted for the previous three weeks and how they were exchanging glances, subtle smiles and "accidental" touches. Ace saw those too and he smiled every time, thus convincing Robin that what he had done was indeed for those two. Debating whether she wanted to know what it was that he did, she sipped at her drink and observed the childlike antics of her younger friends.

"Will you tell me?" she asked after a while.

"You'll find out soon enough." he said softly. "I'm sorry, if I tell you, you could be an accomplice."

Her eyes widened at that, despite the fact she assumed it could be something of the kind. Ace gave her a sad smile before he added: "She won't bother them anymore."

He had told her a week before of Ishilly's attempt on Sanji's life and Robin could hardly sympathize with the faith that has befallen her.

"Will you get caught?" she asked him seriously. It was a valid question.

"Hopefully not." he replied after a short pause.

"Do you regret doing it?" she stood up as the words left her lips.

"No."

This time he replied without thinking about his answer. There was no need to think about it, after all.

"By the way, I believe you lost our bet." Robin said with the politest smile Ace had ever seen.

"No, they went on a date on Monday!" he replied in a hushed tone, knowing Zoro and Sanji wouldn't like it if he outed them too soon.

"If they don't admit it, it doesn't count~." she said in a singsong voice, knowing full well that they won't admit to it any time soon. In reality, she wasn't one to pry in other people's privacy and their relationship was their own so she wouldn't reveal them, but it was fun to observe them. Like high school kids with their first crushes and first relationships, not knowing completely how to act with each other or in front of their friends. Robin found it cute, the way their hands were always close, how they unconsciously glance at each other from time to time, how Sanji smiled to himself for the first time since Conis left. Cute.

* * *

Sanji had known Ace for way too long and he could easily notice patterns that indicated that his friend was in a bad mood, no matter how well he hid it from everyone. He worried too much about others and not enough about himself. For example, the fact he tried so hard to get Sanji and Zoro together instead of looking for his own significant other; something that he desperately needed in his life. Well, what he needed most was stability of having someone to come home to.

Sanji finished and served the food without help, he was skilled enough to do so in a heartbeat and almost without anyone noticing. Which was hard to achieve with Luffy in the room. He chose the only empty spot available, the one on the couch next to the marimo. Seeing as Ace was taking a seat on the floor at the same moment Sanji came in, he could safely presume Freckles had vacated the spot he took. He even grinned lecherously in his direction. The marimo took his opportunity and gave the cook's ass a quick grope as he sat on the couch. Sanji was sure the two were plotting against his sanity, modesty or something of the kind. Maybe Ace wasn't in that bad of a mood after all.

The conversations flew, it was a gathering like most others before except for the open affections between Law and Kidd (which weren't that obvious, but it was a step up compared to their previous relationship). Sanji could occasionally feel a brush of Zoro's hand against his or across the small of his back. He could also see Ace notice it every time like he had supernatural senses for perverts at work. _Takes one to know one. _It was quite surprising, though, that Zoro had an almost romantic side; a side Sanji found himself liking. He hadn't expected that when he ventured in this relationship (it could actually be called a relationship at that point) and he hadn't known if romance was necessary or even needed when it came to another man. Well, it turned out that romance wasn't a definite no-no so Sanji could enjoy that the marimo could surprise him once in a while.

Sanji observed Ace for a moment longer and decided a thanks was needed for all his meddling, but ultimately for Ace knowing he and Zoro could be happy, whether as friends or more. Again, damn Freckles and his stupid intuition. Nothing was safe from the man, yet for some reason his and the marimo's secret was safe with him. He leaned closer to Zoro so only he could hear him.

"Invite Ace to lunch tomorrow, at your place." he whispered.

Zoro glanced at him, confused, but Sanji could see the question without the marimo actually having to ask it.

"I'll cook. Just invite him and I'll explain later." He said and Zoro nodded. Sanji rolled his eyes at how obviously the marimo didn't care for reasons if he was going to get food. It amazed him how many of his friends were thinking with their stomachs. He had made sure to be out of Luffy's hearing range because he would butt in without any manners or remorse.

Sanji leaned back into the couch, immersing himself into a conversation with Robin, but still completely aware of the marimo's hand brushing against his on the couch between them. He would worry about the appearance of it, but rather than moving his hand, he made sure no one else could see it. After all, why not?

* * *

It was the first time Sanji had come to his apartment and he was already moving through his little kitchen with graceful movements that suggested he had cooked there hundreds of times before. It was also the first time Zoro had seen Sanji in his zone; moving through the small space, using his scant assortment of cooking utensils and the fancy ingredients he had brought with himself. It was almost like a dance and it wasn't hard for Zoro to notice the same grace in his movements as he saw when the blond made to kick him. If he focused really hard, he could hear the cook hum quietly. It was so… domestic. He would never really call Sanji a housewife (well, maybe if he had no other material to ruff the cook's feathers), but that was how he looked to the marimo.

"Are you just gonna stand there and stare at me?" the cook spoke suddenly without turning in his direction. Zoro snapped out of his thoughts and lifted his gaze from the cook's ass (_when did that happen?_) to look at the back of his head.

"I'm not staring." he said with something akin to a pout. The other laughed at that, almost as if he could see the marimo's expression.

"You could cut that meat over there." Sanji said then glanced over his shoulder and smirked. "That is, if you can handle a blade." Zoro's eyes narrowed at that; the cook knew he could handle almost any kind of blade. The cook was just trying to mess with him and Zoro would gladly reply with a snarky remark, but he had learned already not to anger Sanji while he was cooking for him. So without a work, he took a knife and started on the meat. He could see Sanji from the corner of his eye; the cook looked shocked at the lack of resistance for a moment before he started giving Zoro instructions on how to cut the chicken. Zoro smirked and focused on cutting, actually enjoying every second of helping in the kitchen. He usually never spent much time in that specific room since his eating habits consisted mostly of takeout or eating at the dojo.

"Oh, while we're not fighting and shit, I might as well tell you I'm moving back to the restaurant." Sanji said without looking up from his mundane task of chopping vegetables. Zoro was surprised, though. Sanji had told him how he lived with his uncle before leaving the country, but from the way the blond spoke, he hadn't expected him to move back there.

"How come? You do have a nice place." Zoro asked, actually curious. For a split second, the thought of asking the cook to move to his place crossed his mind; for the good food, of course. Sanji simply shrugged in reply, his eyes still on the vegetables.

"It's too big for just me and I did rent it with Conis. Seems pointless to stay there." he replied almost too casually. Ah, Conis. They hadn't talked about her or Ishilly yet, but Zoro knew it had been a serious relationship. Did that make him feel like he was simply a rebound thing? Maybe a bit, but again, he had broken up with Ishilly the day after. They were in the same situation and they would probably have to talk about it at some point. It would also probably be an awkward conversation. Zoro hummed to let Sanji know he had heard him and didn't really have anything to say about it.

The comfortable silence was broken by the doorbell and Sanji was out of the kitchen in no time, undoubtedly in a hurry to buzz Ace in. Zoro simply finished his work, washed his hands and sat down at the kitchen table only to be joined by Ace minutes later.

"You're early." Zoro said instead of a hello, but his voice was cheerful.

"Just wanted to observe you two in your natural habitat." he replied with a grin that could blind a person not used to it. Zoro laughed, but somehow managed to speak between attacks of laughter.

"Just don't let the cook hear you." he said seconds before Sanji walked into the room. They snickered at the cook like little kids and he narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but he went back to his vegetables without a word. The two at the table pretended to behave, but barely managed to keep their totally manly giggles at bay.

It wasn't long before the kitchen was filled with a delicious smell and the sounds of Zoro and Ace making crappy jokes. Sanji turned towards them with a spatula in hand, prepared to throw them out until lunch was done, maybe hit one of them with the utensil "on accident", but he was cut off by the doorbell.

"Did you invite someone else?" Sanji asked, looking at Zoro who was equally confused.

"No." he said as he got up and walked to the door, leaving Sanji and Ace confused in the kitchen. The doorbell wasn't the one from the front door, it was the one for the apartment door so whoever the visitor was, he was in the building. Zoro opened the door and was met with two half-lidded blue eyes staring at him; the man was slightly taller than him and obviously older, but the blond mohawk-looking hairstyle made him look fairly young.

"Good day, I'm detective Marco Phoenix." He showed his badge before speaking again. "Are you Zoro Roronoa?"

"Uhm, yeah, that's me." Zoro replied, confusion evident on his face. "How can I help you?" He asked and stepped to the side so the detective could enter the apartment.

"Do you know a Miss Ishilly Sobakasu*?" the blond asked in a serious tone as Zoro led him to the kitchen.

"Yeah, she's my ex-girlfriend. Why do you ask?" Zoro offered the detective a seat at the table, Sanji and Ace watching intently. He introduced the detective to them before they managed to ask questions, though it seemed that Ace knew the man already.

"Miss Sobakasu was found dead in her apartment last night. She had a large amount of alcohol in her system and traces of sleeping pills. It seems she had fallen asleep with a few lit candles and the fire started while she was unconscious." the detective spoke and his tone was serious, he was shifting his gaze between the three young men before him as they were too shocked to speak so he continued.

"We found a paper with your contact information so you are the only person in the country we can link her to." Zoro sat down next to Ace, having trouble processing the information that Ishilly was dead. "When was the last time you had seen her?" the blond asked, his attention on Zoro for the time being.

"Two weeks ago. She visited me in the hospital." The detective's eyebrows rose, but he only nodded.

"Did she usually drink a lot?" he asked.

"Only when she was upset, I think." Zoro answered, honestly not remembering an occasion where he had seen her drink a lot.

"Was there a reason for her to be upset?" the detective continued his questions, only nodding while Zoro answered.

"Well, we broke up two weeks ago and she had taken it badly. Do you think someone might have done this to her?" Zoro suddenly asked, but both his and the detective's attention were drawn to Sanji who was holding a lit cigarette in his hand, pulling it away from a lighter in Ace's hand.

"Don't tell me you started smoking while I was gone." he spoke quietly in Ace's direction, trying not to disturb the questioning, but it had been pointless in the small space.

"Oh, no, I just got the lighter as a present." Ace replied and turned towards Zoro and the blond detective who observed the freckled man with interest for what felt like forever in the silence of the kitchen. When he finally turned back to Zoro, he replied to his question.

"No, we believe it was an accident. Accidents like this one happen more often than you think. Don't they?" His question was asked in Ace's direction, confirming Zoro's suspicion that the two knew each other from work. Ace nodded in reply and detective Phoenix turned back to Zoro. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask these questions. May I ask why you broke up?" the detective asked another question and Zoro nodded before answering.

"It turned out she was really jealous, following me all the time and she was rude to my friends. We dated in Japan two years ago and she just turned up here a couple of weeks ago, we got together for a just a week or so." Zoro replied, wanting to get it over with. It was strange to think that she got drunk and then burned in a fire, but he hadn't voiced his concerns.

The detective simply nodded and stood up, shaking Zoro's hand and thanking him for his time before he glanced back at Ace for a second longer than necessary then saying goodbye to him and Sanji too. Zoro led him back to the front door and thanked the man for notifying him, even though he wasn't her family.

"Oh, did you contact her family? I heard she left home a year and a half ago without telling anyone. Apparently, her parents didn't know where she was." Zoro said as the detective stood in front of his door.

"Yes, just this morning. They will handle the transport of her remains back to Japan." the blond replied with a solemn look on his face. Zoro could see the man didn't like this aspect of his work. Who would be?

They shook hands once again and the blond detective with the curious hair was gone. Zoro closed the door behind him and turned towards the living room, noticing Ace standing there with a serious look on his face, one that even Zoro hadn't seen too often. It fit the situation, though.

Zoro had known Ace for years and was one of the few people that knew about his pyromaniac tendencies. They were mostly gone, but he was hard to control in high school. Ever since the detective mentioned it had been a fire and had looked at Ace with suspicion clearly written on his face, Zoro had to admit that the possibility of Ace's involvement was strong. The emotions about that were conflicting, though, since Ace would never do something this sever for kicks.

Ace came closer and stayed quiet until Zoro spoke; quietly so Sanji wouldn't overhear.

"Was it you?" he asked, knowing full well that Ace would understand the question and that he would not lie.

"Yes." Ace said, looking Zoro straight into his eyes.

"Why?" He held some anger in his voice, but whether it was at Ace or the situation, even he didn't know.

"She wanted Sanji dead and tried to kill him. Amongst other things." he replied. "Because he likes you." He added after a short pause, but his tone held no malice or blame for Zoro.

Ace's words surprised him for a second, but the anger shifted to her despite the fact she was already dead. Zoro knew his friend had done some things of questionable morale before, but it had always been to protect a friend.

"And you like him." Ace spoke again, breaking the silence and stunning Zoro once again. _He did it for the both of us._

"You don't regret it, do you?" Zoro asked even though he knew the answer already. He sighed and hugged Ace before he could reply; they didn't hug often, but Zoro had to thank the other somehow for protecting him and Sanji. Saying it out loud wouldn't be like them and besides, talking about a crime that is considered an accident couldn't bring anything good.

"Okay." Zoro said as he let go of Ace, shocking him. That one word held more understanding and forgiveness than a thousand other words could in that moment. Ace stayed behind, watching as Zoro walked into the kitchen and hugged a protesting Sanji, shutting him up with a kiss. Ace continued watching them, feeling more sure about his actions with each passing second, each kiss and playful insult he witnessed.

No, he didn't regret it at all.

*it means freckles in Japanese XD

**This is the last chapter, but not the ending. The epilogue will be the ending of Zosan :D If you are interested in the details of Ace's plan and how he did it, read the prologue of a semi-sequel to this with Ace and Marco in the focus. It's called 'Into the fire' and you can find it on my profile. **

**Thank you very much for reading this and thanks to everyone who was kind enough to review :D**


	13. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_6 months later_

"Come on, marimo, could you be any slower?" Sanji said with a grin on his face, looking over his shoulder at the mass of boxes obscuring the marimo's undoubtedly scowling face. They were climbing the stairs to their new apartment, Sanji carrying a single box of his precious cooking utensils while Zoro played pack mule with a shitload of boxes stacked in his arms.

"Shut up, shit cook, most of this crap is yours anyway. You should carry it your damn self!" Zoro replied, but carried everything nonetheless. He let Sanji lead him into the living room filled with more boxes and set the ones he carried onto the nearest empty spot on the floor while the cook unpacked his box in the kitchen with utmost care.

"Is that the last of them?" Sanji asked from his new sanctuary.

"Nah, there's still some stuff in your car. I'll go get that and you start unpacking all this shit if you don't want to sleep on the floor tonight." Zoro said with some humor in his voice and fled the room before something came hurling at him from the kitchen. Sanji chuckled when he was sure the marimo wouldn't be able to hear him and continued unpacking. Possessing some common sense, he had labeled the boxes beforehand so finding sheets, towels and other immediate necessities wasn't an impossible task. Well, probably, since every room was cluttered with boxes and bags while the living room had an almost random pile of furniture that needed to be distributed around the room. There was a really long afternoon ahead of them and Sanji had to mentally pat himself on the back for coming over the day before to clean everything. Between the two of them, the unpacking and placing of furniture should be fast if they kept the arguing to a minimum.

The kitchen was, of course, already spotless and everything was in it's rightful place; Sanji unpacked and put everything away while Zoro did the heavy lifting so they could deal with everything else together. The front door closed with a bang and Sanji peeked out of the kitchen only to see the marimo dump the last of their stuff onto the couch with little to no care for the contents.

"Oi, shithead, be careful with that." There goes the plan to keep arguing to a minimum. Zoro waved dismissively in reply and returned to the small hallway only emerge back in the living room without his heavy combat boots. Sanji flattened the empty boxes in the kitchen and stopped to glance over the product of his work. The room was decorated perfectly and had everything he could ever want and need in his perfect kitchen. He also took the time to actually think about the significance of what was going on; he and the marimo were moving in together. As a couple. The marimo was his _oh god_ boyfriend. Sanji still had trouble wrapping his mind around that fact, but it was still the state of their affairs and moving in together was simply another milestone for them; the first being coming out to their families and friends. The cook was nervous for this as he had been when they had first gathered the closest people in both their lives to tell them of their relationship. Only, this time it was just the two of them to share the moment and they haven't been able to do so amidst the countless boxes.

They had work to do and no time for romance. Not that the marimo would know what romance was even if it hit him on the head, but Sanji chose the marimo and it was too late to complain. With a sigh of resignation, the cook walked through the living room, leaving the boxes somewhere random, and stopping in the hallway. He removed his shoes too, leaving them next to Zoro's before going back into the living room. The marimo was sitting on the couch looking lost in the middle of boxes and bags, waiting for Sanji to tell him what to do.

"Okay, marimo. Let's get started." Sanji said enthusiastically; no matter how much work they had, he was still excited about moving in with the marimo. He was confident that this would be it, that it would last and hold more meaning than his relationships before. After all, falling in love with a guy wasn't something he did often.

Zoro chuckled at the sight of the excited cook; he was inclined to even call it adorable.

"What do I do?" Zoro asked, resigned to just follow Sanji's instructions without questioning them and just let the blond decorate the place. Sanji liked that plan and pointed to a pair of boxes with a grin.

"Unpack those books and put them into the bookshelf. I'll go deal with the bathroom stuff." he said and grabbed some bags before walking off to the bathroom. He could hear shuffling from the living room and when he was sure Zoro was doing what he was supposed to, he opened the closet next to the bathroom to unpack the towels and sheets first. The towels were brand new, huge and extremely fluffy; he had picked them out himself just like the sheets and bedding, carpets, the furniture. Okay, he had picked out everything of importance. It wasn't like the marimo had any interest in it, anyway.

Once all the pristine fabrics were folded neatly onto the wooden shelves, Sanji closed the door of the closet and folded the empty bags. The bathroom was, like all the other rooms, filled with stuff in need of sorting. Most of it was his, anyway, and he was quick to place everything on the shelves where it belonged. He was done faster than expected, but there was still more work waiting for him. Just as he was about to start feeling sorry for himself, his attention was drawn by loud laughing from the living room. Collecting all the empty bags and boxes, Sanji strode to the living room towards the source of the commotion. Zoro was sitting on the floor, his back turned to Sanji, with an opened box in front of him. Sanji noted that all his cookbooks and the surprising amount of various books Zoro owned were neatly organized on the shelves.

Another bout of laughter made him remember why he came there and he looked at the marimo.

"What's so funny, marimo?" he asked as he moved closer and around the mosshead, getting a better view of the box. He had recognized it immediately, it was his box after all. Zoro was looking through Sanji's childhood memories, high school photos and laughing at whatever he found there.

"What is all this, cook?" Zoro asked, looking up from the treasure he uncovered. Sanji sat down opposite him and looked at the things he hadn't seen in years. It had been stored in that box for a long time.

"Just things I didn't wanna throw away." Sanji said with a soft smile as he watched Zoro take a stuffed blue whale out of the box and gently place it in his lap. _Damn marimo, subconsciously being cute and all. _Zoro continued his rummaging while Sanji watched; he already forgot what else he might find in there. The next thing Zoro pulled out was a framed photo and he laughed once more as he got a good look at it. Sanji took it from the other's hand and took a look himself. It showed four kids, him, Ace and Sabo, if he remembered correctly with a little Luffy holding Ace and Sabo by the hand. Luffy wore a one-piece yellow plush suit with long ears attached to the hood and a tail peeking from behind him. His suit was blue with a thick tail and a turtle shell with nothing on his hood while Ace wore an almost identical orange suit, but without the shell and a plush flame attached to the tip of his tail. On Luffy's other side was Sabo in a green suit with a few dark green spots and a big dark green blob on his back. He remembered it well; it was the first Halloween he went trick-or-treating shortly after he had met Ace and with him also Sabo and Luffy. He was lost in the memory until Zoro took the picture back and laughed at it again.

"Did you usually dress like this or was it a special occasion?" Zoro asked with a grin on his face. He wouldn't admit out loud that the cook looked too cute on the picture, but he really wanted to display it somewhere.

Sanji laughed at his question and shook his head. "It was Halloween, marimo." Zoro set the photo aside and continued digging until he pulled out a stack of photos. Sanji immediately moved to his side and leaned his head on the marimo's shoulder so he could see the photos too. Those were mostly from high school with Ace and the guys, but some were older; a few of his baby photos with his mom and a couple of him in the Baratie kitchen with the old man. Zoro laughed at the tiny chef's whites Sanji wore and the cook leaned over the box to pull out the tiny white hat, the first chef's hat he got from the old man. It brought a smile to his face and another laughing fit from the marimo as he noticed Sanji's short hair in one of the pictures; so short, both his eyebrows were visible. He had found out what they looked like a few months earlier, but they never ceased to make him laugh.

More digging revealed a few more funny photos of a younger Sanji, a dirty magazine (the discovery of which made the cook blush), a stale pack of cigarettes and several lighters. Amongst other things. Sanji was putting everything back into the box, as carefully as he could, but Zoro snatched the frame with the Halloween picture and got up from the floor. Sanji watched with interest and confusion as Zoro walked to the bookshelf and placed the frame in an empty spot on one of the shelves.

"Marimo?" Sanji said confused, not really knowing how he should even ask what he was doing.

"What, this is your home now. There should be pictures around the place, too." Zoro replied with a look that suggested Sanji might be an idiot for not understanding what was necessary to make a home.

Sanji blushed at the sentiment behind Zoro's words, but he was right as the marimo tended to be in the weirdest of times. He should have gotten used to it. Finally accepting Zoro's idea, Sanji smiled and glanced around the room.

"What about you? Where's your box of mysteries?" he asked with obvious excitement.

"Don't have one." Zoro replied, moving towards another box and opening it; curtains, blankets and what seemed to be a cover for the couch.

"Come on~." Sanji whined. "There has to be something."

"There isn't. All my childhood stuff is in my old room at my granddad's house." he said while opening another box. "You should go unpack in the bedroom, it'll be getting dark in no time."

Sanji was pouting, but got up from the floor and picked up his box. Zoro watched with interest as Sanji disappeared in the small hallway leading to the living room. The cook opened the door of the closet meant for shoes and coats and stored the box there until he figured out what to do with it. He was back in the living room in no time, scowling slightly at the marimo for not having anything to share and disappeared in the bedroom. A set of sheets and pillowcases was already prepared on the bed, with numerous bags of both their clothing around the room. First he took the winter coats and jackets that were obviously not needed for another five months and took them to the hallway closet, repeating the process with the marimo's boots. He moved through the living room without paying attention to his green-haired boyfriend, but he did notice that the number of full boxes was decreasing.

Opting for making the bed first, Sanji unpacked the new pillows and put them in a set of dark blue pillow cases, placing them on a pristine white sheet. He unfolded the matching dark blue cover and smoothed it over the bed and pillows. His toes were curling in the soft gray carpet as he moved around the room barefoot; luckily, the furniture was in place already, unlike the dining/living room that the marimo was stuck in.

Sanji took his time unpacking his clothes, carefully refolding his underwear, t-shirts and sweatpants before storing them in the top half of the dresser drawers. He repeated the same careful procedure with his suits and dress shirts, hanging them in the spacious closet before folding the last of his cotton shirts and jeans onto the closet shelves. His wardrobe was impressive, if he may say so himself, and it took him a considerable amount of time to put everything away. He had heard occasional thumps from Zoro, but didn't care for investigating every noise he heard. The empty boxes and bags were now piling up as he moved to put away Zoro's clothes.

His wardrobe consisted mostly of jeans and t-shirts; it wasn't fancy, but Zoro didn't look like a hobo either so Sanji just let it be. Going through his boxers, though, was interesting. Sanji had not expected to find anything other than the black or gray cotton boxers he usually saw on the marimo (_and those did suit him well enough_), but finding a set of black silk boxers and a pair of emerald ones was far beyond the cooks expectations. His find was better than any box of memories could be and he was careful to place those on top of everything else in marimo's underwear drawer. The t-shirts hardly held anything of interest and the number of sweatpants the man owned was almost overwhelming, but Sanji folded everything without a rush. Going through the jeans, he could already recognize the ones that made the marimo's ass look nice (not that he would ever admit the marimo's ass could look nice) and decided to place those on top of the pile.

Opening the last suitcase, Sanji's eyes flew wide open. He did not expect to see two gorgeous black suits and a number of quality dress shirts in black, gray and dark green that without a doubt looked absolutely stunning on the brute they obviously belonged to. Or he looked like a monkey in a suit, Sanji couldn't decide between the two.

With the utmost care, Sanji placed the suits and shirts in the closet next to his own; something he had never expected he would get to do. The last pieces of the marimo's surprisingly nice wardrobe were placed in the closet by a somewhat stunned cook; Zoro never ceased to amaze and surprise him. Still finding space on the top shelf of the closet for the empty suitcases, Sanji put those away as well before turning to the only little bag left unpacked. It held knick-knacks one might find in a nightstand drawer, but also a bottle of lube. Sanji was still inclined to blush when looking at that, remembering what exactly they used it for.

Not counting that one drunken night two and a half years ago, their sex life had a rocky and sober start. They wouldn't admit it to each other, but they had both done some research. Excruciatingly embarrassing research and an equally excruciating pep talk from Ace. Sanji found himself on the receiving end more often than not and he was slowly getting sick of it, but the marimo managed to persuade him every time. He hoped things would change soon enough, though, but those were thoughts for another time; he still had a lot of work in the living room before he could relax.

The bedroom was done, though, and it was getting pretty late, but at least they'd be able to sleep normally in a bed. Realizing he hadn't heard a single sound coming from the next room for quite some time; Sanji made his way out of the bedroom.

"Marimo, you better not be sleep…ing…" he trailed off at the sight of the dim living room. In the far corner next to the kitchen, he could see the round dining table set in the middle of the now unfolded dark carpet with four chairs neatly in place around the table. The large carpet of the same color was unfolded in the living room too, covering most of the dark wood floor from the bedroom door almost all the way to the opposite wall. The couch was in place perfectly parallel to the kitchen counters that separated the two rooms, with enough space for three barstools next to the counters and walking space behind the couch while the love seat stood parallel to the bedroom wall. The coffee table was clear of all clutter, holding only a remote for the TV mounted on the wall. The bookshelf was where it had been before, between the fireplace and a desk that was right next to the hallway door. All the windows had simple curtains that matched the carpets.

The space in front of the fireplace was empty save for the carpet and, Sanji noticed, the mantelpiece was decorated with several framed photos. His attention was, however, drawn to the candles burning inside the fireplace and a bottle of wine with two glasses resting on his wooden tray. The marimo was nowhere to be found, though.

"I thought I still had a bit more time." Zoro's voice came from his right and he turned his head to look at the marimo. He moved behind the cook and wrapped his arms around the other's waist, resting his chin on a bony shoulder.

"Time for what?" Sanji asked, stunned by the sight. Zoro never tried doing anything even remotely romantic before.

"To put that blanket on the carpet so neither of us gets carpet burns." he replied, nuzzling into Sanji's hair.

Still confused, Sanji had to ask.

"Marimo, what is this?"

"Don't you like it?" the marimo asked with a hurt note to his voice.

"Of course I do!" Sanji said quickly, turning around in Zoro's hands to face him. "But what's the occasion?" They were looking into each other's eyes, Sanji's hands pressed flat against the marimo's chest.

"Well, moving in together, obviously." Zoro said matter-of-factly. "And we've been together for six months, haven't we?" He smiled as he asked the question, not really expecting an answer. Sanji smiled at him, still stunned. _There he goes surprising me again. _"You always complain that I'm not romantic." Zoro added before kissing Sanji gently on the lips for a second and then releasing his hold on him. Sanji turned around and watched as Zoro walked around the couch, picked up the soft blanket then unfolded it across the carpet. He then looked back at the cook, their eyes locked on to each other as Zoro walked back to the cook's side.

Zoro kissed him again, this time less chaste with more passion and need. Without breaking the kiss, the marimo's hands found Sanji's hips and gripped them tightly. Sanji could guess what was about to happen and he guessed right as the marimo's strong hands lifted him, breaking the kiss, Sanji's chest sliding against Zoro's as the marimo wrapped his arms around Sanji's waist and under his ass. Zoro smirked before kissing the cook again, making his way to the couch simultaneously. He sat down, the cook's legs straddling him without a moment of hesitation. Sanji's hands slid across Zoro's shoulders and gripped the back of the couch, using it as leverage to push the marimo further into the couch while deepening the kiss. Zoro hummed into the kiss and tightened his hold around Sanji's waist, pulling him as close as possible.

The kiss was intense, but slow and Zoro took his time enjoying the cook's taste. It was what they did every time, kissing as if it were for the first time, trying to make up for that one time the cook couldn't remember, yet it changed everything for them both. Zoro finally loosened his grip on the cook and slid his hands into the other's shirt, caressing the soft skin of the cook's back. This prompted Sanji to slide his hands into the marimo's shirt, gliding his fingers over hard muscles until he broke the kiss and pulled the shirt over Zoro's head, taking it off then throwing it into the darkness of the apartment. Zoro chuckled and made to do the same for the cook, but Sanji stopped him before the marimo's hands could reach the buttons. Sanji offered a smirk as reply to Zoro's confused expression before he pushed himself off the couch and stood before the marimo appraising look; thanks were in order for the romantic display Zoro put up for him and for finishing all the work by himself.

"Get back here, cook." Zoro growled as he watched Sanji step as far away from him as he could before reaching the coffee table.

Sanji simply smirked; the teasing smirk that never failed to turn the marimo on seeing as it held a promise of overwhelming pleasure. "Just wait a second, marimo~" Sanji purred, eliciting a groan from Zoro before he hurried into the bedroom to grab the lube he luckily stashed in a drawer earlier. He was back in front of the couch in no time, Zoro waiting patiently, shirtless and aroused. Sanji dropped the bottle on the couch, within the marimo's reach for later use; before that, he had other business to attend to.

He stood in front of the impatient marimo, just out of his reach, and smiled at the man. Zoro was confused, but something in the way Sanji looked at him made him sit still and wait for whatever the other was going to do.

As if on cue, Sanji swayed his hips from side to side; a motion so graceful and alluring, it made the marimo's head spin. It stopped as abruptly as it had started and Zoro's gaze lifted from the other's hips over his chest and settled on the cook's lips just as his tongue darted out and licked over his upper lip. Zoro felt himself repeat that motion as he watched those lips curl into another smirk. Sanji's hands moved from his sides, fingers caressing over his shirt as he reached for the top button.

Zoro's eyes followed every movement Sanji's slim fingers made across the fabric, across each button as they were caressed gently before unbuttoning them. The sight may have been painfully hot, but also painfully slow to the marimo. Yet, he made no move to speed things up; slow teasing (or torture, in Zoro's book) was Sanji's thing, but it had always paid out in the end. Button after button was undone and revealing more of Sanji's skin that Zoro knew was heavenly soft, be it under his fingers or lips, the marimo itched to reach out and touch, but that was not the cook's plan. The last button finally free, the shirt was slid off of pale shoulders, down slim arms and carelessly onto the floor. The cook fussed about his clothes at all times, except when he aimed to turn the marimo on and make him lose his mind. Thus far, it had been working perfectly.

For a second too long, Sanji stood in front of Zoro, barely managing not to squirm under the heated gaze; the marimo looked at him like a predator, like he was the most appealing person alive and yet the gaze was also so affectionate at the same time, it made Sanji's heart race. His hands rose from the sides, gently grazing over the waistband of his trousers and his hips, changing course to slide over his abdomen and chest. One of his hands lowered to his belt while the other slid higher and higher, making him close his eyes and hiss, tilting his head back. Fingers sliding over his neck, drawing circles, as the other hand slowly and silently unbuckled the leather belt.

Zoro was mesmerized by the display, noticing how the cook's hips started swaying again almost unnoticeably, but still so damn sexy he couldn't look away. Those deft long fingers pulled the belt out of the loops and dropped it on the floor before reaching back for the button. The other hand was caressing down his pale neck, across the toned chest and joining the other hand on the trousers in what felt like no time at all and too long at the same time.

Equally slowly, the cook's fingers undid the button of his trousers and the zipper, the swaying of those hips easing the smooth fabric down his thighs; he actually moaned softly at the gentle sliding of soft fabric down his heated skin, eliciting a groan from Zoro. Just watching the cook was turning him on more by the second, he seemed to be a natural at it. Sanji stilled once the trousers pooled around his ankles and he stepped out of them, finally approaching the marimo. His movements were slow and graceful; his hips moved with such hypnotizing ease that Zoro had to reach out and grab them as soon as the cook was close enough. But Sanji was having none of that. He slapped the tan hands away with a smile, the marimo thankfully getting the hint, as the cook bent down and caressed Zoro's lips with his own. The contact lasted for a fleeting second as Zoro gasped when he realized the cook was unbuttoning his jeans.

Sanji didn't dwell on the fact Zoro broke their kiss, his lips sliding over the other's cheek as his hands were working on the zipper; the jeans were undone as the cook's mouth reached Zoro's ear. His tongue darting out to lick the surface of the earlobe, making the earrings chime as Sanji's fingers slid into the opened pants. Zoro moaned for the first time of many more to come that night and Sanji let out a pleased moan himself. Zoro's skin prickled at the sound and the warm breath that hit his ear, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. The cook was definitely working some magic, making his erection spring free of it's previous confines. It was so like Zoro to avoid wearing underwear even when he owned a few fancy pairs. Sanji made a mental note to force that silk onto the marimo at another time before he started sliding his hands up Zoro's sides then back down until he reached the pants yet again. The marimo was panting, unable to control himself under such surprising and new ministrations. Sanji nuzzled into the crook of the other's neck as his hands slid further down Zoro's hips, into his jeans.

"Lift your hips." Sanji ordered, making use of the sinful baritone to elicit another soft moan from the marimo's parted lips as he complied to the other's order. Sanji moved away from Zoro, lowering himself as he slid the tight jeans from the marimo's compliant body. He was taking his sweet time in doing so, enjoying the submissive side Zoro hadn't showed to him before; perhaps to anyone before him either. Sanji was aware it could be his perfect opportunity to finally turn the tables on the marimo, but his plan was to thank the man for going against his anti-romance personality to please him; seeing as the marimo succeeded in his part, it was Sanji's turn to return the favor.

Finally ridding the marimo of his clothes, Sanji stood again. The floor was littered with discarded clothes, but he didn't care this time as he had a very naked, very aroused and VERY erotic looking marimo in front of him. Every last bit of his blood seemed to rush south. The only thing he was able to think of being dropping his own boxers and joining Zoro on the couch. He hooked his thumbs on the waistband of his underwear, taking note of the marimo's breath hitching at the action, and he deliberately slowly slid the soft cotton down his long legs. Zoro was growing too impatient, having finally been allowed to look over the cook's perfect naked body. Sanji stood in front of the marimo for a second longer, allowing him to look, before he returned within reach. Zoro wasted no time before he grabbed the cook's hips again and this time he showed no intention of letting go. He guided Sanji toward himself, making him spread his legs and straddle him once again.

The marimo was pulling the cook closer, making Sanji's pale thighs slide over Zoro's own tan ones, producing a friction that was long overdue. He kissed the cook, finally, wrapping one arm around him while the other searched the cushions for the discarded bottle. Sanji so obviously had a natural talent for riling him up, getting him aroused beyond reason and coherent thinking that Zoro simply couldn't wait any longer. Finding the bottle didn't take long, but to the marimo it was still not soon enough. Still, kissing the cook into oblivion wasn't all that bad either, seeing as the mentioned cook was shivering in his hold while those elegant long fingers dug into the flesh of his shoulder blades.

Opening a bottle of lube with one hand and squeezing said lube onto those fingers was harder than expected; especially after removing the ability to think properly from the equation. Help came in the form of a gentle hand caressing down his arm before taking hold of the bottle and spilling enough lube onto Zoro's fingers without even a drop spilling on the couch; all without breaking the kiss. Once he heard the cap snap to a close, Zoro moved his arm around the cook and between his cheeks. He waited until Sanji returned his own hand to it's place on a now red shoulder blade before he ran a steady slick finger from the cook's balls, across his entrance and up to the small of his back, only to trace the same path down again. Sanji was downright shaking, the combination of pleasure, arousal and anticipation overwhelming him.

Zoro broke the kiss, letting Sanji bury his face in the crook of his neck to try and keep his sanity from slipping. Meanwhile, the marimo kissed the cook's neck and shoulder to distract him from the lubed finger prodding at his entrance. Sanji was relaxed, the finger slipping in with little to no effort, but Zoro could feel his lover clench right after the intrusion. He waited since hurting the blond was not an option. As soon as the other relaxed again, however, did he start moving his finger, sliding it in and out until Sanji bit down on his neck. It was the clearest sign he could get, swiftly adding another slick finger before the cook drew blood. The teeth released him only for Sanji to be able to moan loudly into his ear as Zoro thrust his fingers deeper. The volume of the cook's moans increased as Zoro rubbed the tips of his fingers over his favorite part on the cook's body at the moment. The shivering also increased and the marimo was losing it, the feeling of Sanji barely holding it together was getting to him. He added the third and final finger, holding on to his last shred of coherent thinking to prep the cook properly. It was getting difficult as Sanji's breath came in short puffs, silent curses and pleads heard between pants.

Sanji was moving back, trying to feel as much as possible, his mind able to form a thought that he needed the lube again. He reached back to retrieve the bottle, uncapping it and squeezing some of it onto Zoro's lap, not really caring if the couch got dirty in the process. Zoro chuckled at his eagerness for a moment, but in reality, he was as far gone as the cook was, slicking himself before the cook got a chance to do it. Sanji tossed the bottle into a random direction, no longer interested in it while Zoro removed his fingers. Using the marimo's shoulders for leverage once more, Sanji lifted himself above Zoro just enough to position himself properly only to slide himself on his lover's erection slowly. Zoro wouldn't have it, though, the cook was playing slowly and teasingly since the start and Zoro took matters into his own hands. More specifically, he took the cook's hips and lowered him faster, bucking his own hips up at the same time.

Their combined moans tore through the room; it seemed that the cook's prolonged foreplay worked wonders for them both. They stilled, Zoro holding Sanji's hips in place to let him adjust to the intrusion and to give them both time to steady their breathing at least a little.

"Marimo…" Sanji moaned into the other's ear. "Move…"

Something about that voice drove him insane in a normal situation, but the breathlessness that the cook displayed in that moment made his focus shift solely on how to make the cook moan more. Blessing his upper body strength, Zoro slowly lifted Sanji until he was almost completely out. He chuckled as Sanji's nails dug into his back in anticipation, he kissed his lover's neck softly before slamming himself back into the cook's tight warmth. Sanji moaned again, but Zoro knew it could get even better if only he found the perfect angle. He felt Sanji's thigh muscles shift as he lifted himself this time. His eyes locked onto the marimo's dark ones as he brought himself down with enough force to break a lesser man. Zoro could hear by the other's moans that he hit closer to the mark this time, but not quite there yet. With their combined efforts, the cook found himself lifted again, then slammed back down while Zoro bucked his hips up and successfully hitting his target.

Hitting the cook's prostate didn't only bring pleasure to the cook, but to the marimo too. Hearing the cook cry out his name as he did, did things to Zoro he dared not even try to explain. They did not stop, though, Zoro moving the cook as he slumped forward in a moment of ecstasy. He collected himself at the sound of the marimo's chuckle and shifted his weight onto his legs again. They moved together, careful not to change the angle from the perfection it was and they simply sped up the pace. Moans filled the air around them, sweat slicking their skin as they moved in harmony; something they had achieved perfectly for the first time. Sanji managed to lean forward and capture the marimo's lips. The kiss was sloppy, but it silenced the sounds they made, making it possible to hear the creaking of the couch underneath them.

Sanji was nearing his limit, the whole experience had been somehow different than usual; looking at the marimo revealed that he felt the same. As if he had been reading Sanji's mind, Zoro slid one arm around the other's waist and removed the other hand from a sharp hipbone only to wrap it around the cook's neglected erection. A sharp breath from Sanji alerted Zoro that the body above his was dancing so close to climax, it was almost unbearable. He started stroking in time with his thrusts, nearing his own finish as he felt rather than saw the cook unravel. A few strokes were all it took for the cook; he came with a loud moan of the marimo's name, feeling it wouldn't give the man justice if he had called him anything else in that specific moment. Sanji was shaking, his arms tight around Zoro's neck. He whimpered into the marimo's ear, his movements causing him additional pleasure before Zoro himself couldn't take it anymore. The fact Sanji tightened around him one last time helped him reach his climax with more vocals the cook had heard from his lover since the first time they had sex.

Sanji's body slumped onto Zoro's, finding comfort in the strong hands that were quick to embrace and steady him. Breathing normally wasn't possible yet and they simply let themselves enjoy the silent moment. Zoro leaned back into the couch, holding his cook close, resting his chin on a pale smooth shoulder. If that was how it felt to let the cook take the lead, Zoro had no doubts about his plans for the second round.

Feeling his breath starting to slow down, Zoro pulled out and tightened his grip on Sanji before he abruptly lifted them both off the couch. Sanji gasped and held on to the marimo, surprised by the sudden action. Zoro chuckled while crossing the short distance to the blanket he had placed in front of the fireplace earlier. He gently lowered the cook and placed him on the blanket with care. The cook gave a gentle squeeze before letting the marimo go, his hands falling to the sides. Zoro gave him a quick peck on the lips before moving to the side where the tray with wine waited for them.

Zoro had a whole plan that had been painstakingly difficult for him to make since he and romance didn't see eye to eye and in the end, things took a different course. He could almost feel the cook's gaze on him as he poured the wine, courtesy of Robin, into the cook's fancy glasses. Zoro had seen Sanji do it countless times before and could do it just as good as the cook. He set the bottle back on the tray; the candles were still burning, their light reflected in the dark red surface of the wine. The marimo had certainly outdone himself. Gently picking up the fragile looking glasses, he handed one to the intrigued cook.

Fine wines were Sanji's area of expertise and he was curious what the marimo chose to serve him; finding himself surprised at the taste of his favorite wine. Sanji realized he hadn't been giving the marimo enough credit and he smiled at the nervous look the other was sporting. The blond lifted his free hand to Zoro's cheek, stroking it with his thumb while he closed in to kiss him.

"I guess you have proven me wrong, marimo." Sanji admitted with a smile, his eyes gazing into Zoro's. "You should be romantic more often." he added with a teasing tone.

"Nah." Zoro replied, placing his glass back on the tray before taking Sanji's out of the way too. "I'm more interested in another round." he said, swinging his leg over the cook's lap and straddling him. He was leaning down to kiss Sanji, as the blond stuttered.

"No, marimo… I can't…" His words were cut off by Zoro's lips. Zoro knew what the other wanted to say, but that didn't matter. He broke the kiss, listening to the cook's panting as his lips ghosted towards Sanji's ear. Taking a deep breath of Sanji's scent, Zoro whispered.

"It's your turn, cook."

Sanji shivered at the sound of that voice that seemed like pure sex to him, only taking notice of the words as he felt the marimo nibble at his earlobe. His eyes opened wide as he thought about it. Did the marimo really mean..?

"Oi. What do you mean?" he asked, hoping he was right. His cock already awakened at the mere thought of finally topping his stubborn lover. Zoro chuckled in his ear before speaking.

"You know what I mean."

He reached towards the couch and retrieved the previously discarded bottle. There was only enough time to place the bottle on the ground before his back met the fuzzy surface of the blanket. The cook was above him, a subtle look of disbelief on his face. Zoro reached up, tangling his rough fingers through silky blond hair as gently as possible. He pulled Sanji closer and kissed him reassuringly. This seemed like a natural course of their relationship to Zoro; Sanji was his equal in every way and not giving him a chance to do what Zoro himself had been doing for the past few months wouldn't be fair.

Sanji pulled away and looked at Zoro once again. His deep dark eyes were assuring him, emitting such affection, it made the blond blush from the intensity of the gaze. Finally, he smiled and leaned back to kiss the marimo sweetly before he thought of his possibilities.

Fearing that the marimo might change his mind, Sanji refused to detach his lips from Zoro's. His hands roamed the other's body, tracing muscles he could find even in his sleep. The marimo got over his shock as soon as Sanji's lips touched his and the pads of his fingers were gliding up and down the cook's sides. The blond was ticklish on his best day, but during sex, his skin would prickle and he'd shiver from the light touches Zoro knew just where to place.

They were both hard in no time; Sanji from the anticipation of finally dominating the marimo in the fullest and Zoro because he knew the blond would make him feel beyond good. He would never say it out loud, though, the cook's ego was the size of Texas sometimes. Sanji's hand moved to Zoro's chin and he gave his lip a gentle nip before moving the marimo's chin up for better access to his neck. Sanji's lips grazed over the other's jaw, kissing a trail where he felt his heartbeat the most. Zoro was breathing heavy, his hands stilled and loosely grasped Sanji's hips. It was those hips that he liked holding the most and he used every opportunity given to him to do so.

Sanji still kissed and licked his way down, caressing another trail with his fingers. Both his mouth and his fingers stopped at the marimo's already hard nipples; Sanji didn't get a chance to explore his lover in the first round of the evening, but he would not let the opportunity slide again. His tongue darted around the nipple as his fingers pinched the other one, making Zoro hiss and clutch at Sanji's hips with bruising force. He didn't stay like that for long, though, quickly resuming his path further down, both his fingers and tongue. Sanji's hips fell out of reach and Zoro reluctantly let go, opting for clutching the blanket underneath instead.

The cook's talented mouth reach Zoro's navel and he circled it maddeningly slowly. Zoro drew a sharp breath, surprised at how good that actually felt, but then again, Sanji had known how to turn him on from the start. The blond moved both his hands to the other's hips, conveniently leaving the bottle close at hand. Keeping a tight hold on his hips, Sanji's mouth moved from the bellybutton and he kissed down the marimo's happy trail. The cook slowed his movements, only making Zoro clutch the blanket harder as his cock twitched in anticipation. Sanji's mouth was so close, yet so insanely far, but the cook didn't give in just yet. He changed his course, avoiding the oh so obvious erection in a wide arch, kissing the marimo's inner thigh instead. Such a simple action and yet it made Zoro arch his back and spread his legs just to give Sanji better access. He smirked into the soft skin, taking note of the marimo's surprising behavior. A flick of the cook's tongue and Zoro let out another embarrassingly loud moan, one that he would deny later.

Sanji couldn't handle it anymore. He had waited for a chance for months and he was finally given one. Why he had decided to prolong the foreplay when it only tortured him more than the marimo, he did not know, but the sounds coming from the marimo's mouth were reward enough. Without a warning, Sanji moved from the thigh and licked along Zoro's length making the man cry out. Hearing his own name from the other's lips was completely arousing for Sanji. Leaving the teasing for another time, he took the marimo's erection in his mouth and sucked. Zoro, writhing on the blanket at this point, was distracted enough not to notice the uncapping of the trusted bottle. Sanji was dazed, anticipation burning his nerves, and he barely managed to coat his fingers with what he deemed to be enough lube. Insecure thoughts flew through his mind, but he paid them no heed as he had better things to think about. Noticing a calloused hand entwined in his hair, Sanji bobbed his head faster while his slightly trembling hand reached Zoro's entrance and he pushed a lubed finger inside.

The marimo took it better than expected, the distraction Sanji's mouth provided was almost heaven sent and adding a second finger was easier than he had thought it would be. Being on the receiving end of such ministrations for one too many times, Sanji knew what he had to do to make Zoro feel as good as possible. He wriggled his fingers, repeating motions he knew Zoro always did to him, pushing in when the marimo started moving too. He searched a bit longer for the other's prostate and hummed in triumph when he found it. Zoro moaned almost desperately, the feeling of having his prostate fondled was completely new to him, yet not uncomfortable in the slightest especially in combination with the cook humming around his cock.

Zoro was too busy to notice the adding of a third finger, not that he would protest. His eyes had closed at some point, one hand was holding the blanket in a death grip while he tried really hard not to pull the cook's hair too painfully. Sanji was somehow skilled in locating the lube and applying it where it was needed without stopping what he was doing or alerting Zoro; his free hand had lubed his rock hard member in a hurry while the marimo shook under him. Neither could take it much longer and Sanji was well aware of it, barely keeping a cool head. It was his time to make Zoro melt with pleasure and he would do it properly. He lifted himself on his knees and kissed Zoro, surprising the man into opening his eyes. Sanji was stunned into silence, stopping every movement, when he saw the look on Zoro's face. He had never seen the marimo look at him without any reservations, with pure and simple longing written so plainly on his face. If he had ever felt their relationship wasn't worth the trouble, the disgusted looks and hateful comments, that one look from Zoro erased it all. It was the last straw and Sanji kissed him again, this time with all the feelings he had for the man as he removed his hand and replaced it with his own painfully hard erection.

It was hot, tight and fucking amazing. Sanji could understand why the marimo didn't want to switch places sooner. He was still, giving Zoro time to adjust and to observe all the emotions that played over the other's face. His mind was too jumbled to pinpoint what those emotions were, but they were beyond good without a doubt. Zoro mumbled something incoherent and knowing of the state he was in, Sanji took it as an invitation to move. So he slid his hand under Zoro's knee and hooked it over his shoulder before pulling out almost all the way. He knew it would drive the other insane if he pulled out slowly then thrust in with as much force as the marimo used on him. Sanji couldn't get enough of the unfamiliar sensation and he could see Zoro felt the same. There was no stopping anymore, Sanji established a pace that would bring them both to the end all too fast, but he simply couldn't control himself. They would be doing this again, whether the marimo liked it or not. Judging from the moans and the look on his face, he liked it very much.

Gripping the thigh resting flush against his chest, Sanji released the marimo's hip and wrapped his fingers around the other's cock. The stroking of his hand may not have been in sync with his thrusts, but Zoro hardly minded. He was writhing under Sanji, unable to hide how good the blond made him feel and didn't even care. The other was hitting his prostate dead on with each thrust and the waves of pleasure shaking his body were overwhelming; his release was close and they both knew it. Sanji didn't want to give in before he made the marimo come, it wouldn't be fair seeing as Zoro always made the cook's pleasure his first priority when the tables were turned. The willpower needed for such a feat was tremendous and Sanji doubled his efforts, watching as Zoro's breathing grew more erratic by the second. Several more pumps and thrusts from Sanji's side and Zoro was spilling all over himself and Sanji's hand. Neither took any notice of it, as Zoro was preoccupied with coming more than he'd believe was possible while Sanji got to experience first hand how amazing his lover's climax felt around his cock.

It drew him over the edge; he simply couldn't and frankly didn't want to stop himself any longer. Screaming Zoro's name while coming was a habit he wouldn't change for the world; it was embarrassing to admit and he never would, but in a moment like that one, he couldn't hold back. Zoro's leg slid from his shoulder at some point and he fell forward, letting himself be caught by the marimo and pressed against his chest. Words were not necessary and Sanji pulled out then snuggled (in a manly way) into the marimo's chest.

Blankets would need cleaning, a long shower was overdue, but it was well worth it. Moving in together was the best decision they could make.

**The end**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing, hope you're not disappointed by the end and you'll read the sequel. 'Into the fire' is my next baby xD**


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